Two planes are close together above the sky in eastern Ukraine. Then the rearmost plane fires a missile at the front one. The front one explodes and falls to the ground. Thus, Russia’s fleet of highly advanced S-70 drones may be halved. – This was very special. That’s what associate professor at the Norwegian Air Force School, Lars Peder Haga, says. He has reviewed several videos of what is supposed to be a shooting down of the drone on Saturday. Both planes in the videos must be Russian, says Haga. Ukrainian soldiers inspect the wreckage of what is believed to be a destroyed S-70 drone in Donetsk Oblast. Photo: Serhii Nuzhnenko / Reuters One of them is the state-of-the-art S-70 drone. The second will be Russia’s new Su-57 fighter. Haga reserves the right that what the videos on social media show is real. The incident is said to have occurred over Donetsk county, in eastern Ukraine. – It’s strange. What was this drone doing at the front line? Loss of prestige for Russia The S-70 is a completely new combat drone that is being developed for the Russian defense. It is much larger than other Russian drones. And it must be able to carry up to two tonnes of weapons. But development has taken time, and it should not be used in combat yet. An undated photo of Russia’s brand new drone, the S-70. Photo: x – This is the largest and most advanced drone the Russians have. It is intended to be a supplement to the new Russian fighters, he says. This means that the S-70 will act as a “wingman” for Russia’s brand new fighter, the Su-57. It must also be able to attack ground targets. – How serious is this for Russia? The loss of the drone is primarily a loss of prestige, emphasizes Lars Peder Haga. – It would have taken years anyway before it would have made any big practical difference. In the same way, this does not make any immediate difference for Ukraine, he says. Haga points out that Russia may have challenges related to the development of such large combat drones. – At least it costs as much as a fighter plane. Maybe a few hundred million kroner. The wreckage from what is believed to be an S-70 drone caused destruction on the ground in the town of Kostjantynivka, in eastern Ukraine. Photo: Serhii Nuzhnenko / Reuters There should only be a handful of prototypes of the drone, continues Haga. The S-70 thus differs from Russia’s fleet of much smaller drones. So far, it is these small drones that Russian forces have used to target Ukraine. Russian authorities have not commented on the shooting. May have been a practice Several of the videos shared on social media show wreckage consistent with previous images of the S-70 drone. The drone that was shot down crashed near the village of Kostjantynivka, in eastern Ukraine. Photos show Ukrainian soldiers examining the wreckage. Debris from the drone fell in several places in Donetsk county. Photo: Serhii Nuzhnenko / Reuters Haga calls the whole incident “funny”. It could be that the Russians took a chance by testing the drone on the front line, but then something went wrong, says Haga. One possibility then is that Russia itself had to shoot down the drone, to prevent it from falling into Ukrainian hands, he continues. – This was hardly an accident. Published 05.10.2024, at 22.11 Updated 05.10.2024, at 22.24
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Brand new Russian drone shot down in Ukraine – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
