Russia’s Stealth Drone Is Flying Again—Just Not Anywhere Near Ukraine
The surviving Okhotniks are flying again, but Moscow is keeping them far from Ukrainian skies
15 months after losing one of their rare Okhotnik stealth drones in Ukraine, the Russians have resumed testing the type
The Okhotnik might be Russia’s most sophisticated large drone
But development of the type suffered a major setback when one of four prototypes wandered off course over Donetsk Oblast
Now the Okhotnik apparently sticks to flights inside Russia
More than a year after Russia’s rare Okhotnik stealth drone wandered off course over Ukraine, the Russians are still trying to get the type to work. But they’re clearly not willing to risk another Okhotnik prototype in dangerous Ukrainian skies.
The loss exposed both Russia’s dependence on Western microchips—found throughout the wreckage—and weaknesses in its “stealth” design. Fifteen months later, Moscow is trying again, but keeping the surviving prototypes safely inside Russian airspace.
Scrutinizing commercial satellite imagery, analysis team AviVector spotted one of the 65-foot-wingspan, jet-powered drones at the 929th State Flight Test Center southeast of Moscow no fewer than three times in 2025: on April 22, Aug. 27 and Oct. 14.
It’s clear testing is ongoing as Russia tries to keep pace with the latest U.S. and Chinese drones. Where both Ukraine and Russia deploy a large number of drones in combat, including tiny first-person-view drones and larger one-way attack drones, the Okhotnik and drones like it are in a whole other class.
They’re as big as manned warplanes and, in many ways, just as capable—with heavy payloads and enough range to strike deep inside enemy territory. And in stark contrast to most Ukrainian and Russian drones, they’re expensive at tens of millions of dollars apiece ... and meant to be reusable.
The United States and China are moving quickly to field these large, high-performance fighter drones. And Russia was, too—at least until it suffered a major setback on Oct. 5, 2024.
That’s when one of just four flyable Okhotnik prototypes that Russian plane-maker Sukhoi had built went astray during combat trials near Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast. Exactly what happened is a closely held secret in Moscow.
I love the blurb in the photo implies the stealth drone is, in fact, not stealthy at all, lol.
Solid analysis of the Okhotnik's shift to domestic testing post-October loss. The fact they're keeping it inside Russian airspace says volumes about risk tolerance after losing a $30M+ prototype with Western chips inside. What's interesting is how this mirrors broader Russian drone strategy, they're fielding thousands of cheap FPV/attack drones while paralyzed on high-value reusable platforms. Surveillance imagery from AviVector showing three seperate test dates confirms the program's not dead, but that's a painfully slow test cadence for somthing meant to compete with U.S. XQ-58 Valkyrie or Chinese GJ-11 platforms.