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The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) released on April 28 more details of Russia’s S-71K “Kovyor” stealth air-launched cruise missile that has been reportedly in use since last year.
In the past, it was reported by the intelligence service and other sources that the missile was specifically designed for the Sukhoi Su-57 stealth fighter jet.
The GUR claimed in its latest report that the S-71K was developed by Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation’s (UAC). It also revealed that the warhead of the missile utilizes a Soviet-era 250-kilogram OFAB-250-270 high-explosive fragmentation bomb.
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The missile design features a low-observable airframe with a trapezoidal cross section, chined nose, pop-out swept wings, and an inverted V-tail.
It is made from “a multi-layer fiberglass material with additional reinforcement,” according to the intelligence report, which notes that other internal elements are made of aluminum alloys.
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The S-71K is powered by a compact R500 turbojet engine, also made by UAC, and features what the GUR describes as “an inertial navigation system based on simple sensors.” The engine is fed air through a top-mounted conformal intake with a pentagon-shaped intake duct. It is also linked to three separate internal fuel tanks.
The intelligence agency assessed that the S-71K has an operational range of up to 300 kilometers. Earlier reports suggest that the missile flies at a speed of Mach 0.6 and at altitudes of up to 27,000 feet.
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Reports from 2024 also suggest that Sukhoi — a part of UAC — had received approval from the Russian Defense Ministry to begin producing the S-71K, after it underwent “significant design changes” based on lessons from the special military operation in Ukraine.
Photos of a Su-57 carrying test models of the missiles at the Russian flight research center in Zhukovsky even emerged online that year.
Besides the Su-57, It is also expected that the S-71K could be integrated with the S-70 stealth combat drone, also developed by Sukhoi.
It is also known that another version of the missile, the S-71M “Monokhrom“, is under development by UAC. This version has a “m-in-the-loop” capability, to allow dynamic targeting, including against moving targets. For that, it likely features some sort of terminal optical guidance.
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The S-71K was apparently developed to specifically provide cost-effective, low-observably stand-off strike capabilities for the Su-57.
Based on the fact that the Russian MoD approved the mass production of the missile and is developing a second more advanced version, it can be assumed that its real combat tests in the special military operation zone were extremely successful.
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us mercenary cleo was black. interesting. the neonazis of the azov battalion would beat her, torture her and then chop of her head. the same azov battalion that trained new zealand christchurch shooter brenton tarrant. the same azov battalion(who is above zelenski in kiev) that black us american tax payers finance for over 12 years. wake up america!