The Mikoyan Skat (, skate) is a concept of a

stealth Stealth may refer to: Military *Stealth technology, technology used to conceal ships, aircraft, and missiles **Stealth aircraft, aircraft which use stealth technology ** Stealth ground vehicle, ground vehicles which use stealth technology ** Ste ...

unmanned combat aerial vehicle An unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), also known as a combat drone, fighter drone or battlefield UAV, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance and carries aircra ...

(UCAV) being developed by

Mikoyan Russian Aircraft Corporation "MiG" (), commonly known as Mikoyan and MiG, is a Russian aerospace and defence company headquartered in Begovoy District, Moscow. Mikoyan was the successor to the Soviet Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau (Ми� ...

for the Russian Ministry of Defence since 2005.

Development

Origin of the Skat UCAV dates back to 2005 when Mikoyan started working on the project. Emphasis was put on low-observability and thus the drone was designed in a

flying wing A flying wing is a tailless fixed-wing aircraft that has no definite fuselage, with its crew, payload, fuel, and equipment housed inside the main wing structure. A flying wing may have various small protuberances such as pods, nacelles, blis ...

configuration, in the form of a triangle, with use of composite materials and with armament hidden in two internal weapons bays. Its only full-size mockup was presented for the first time at the MAKS 2007 international air show. However, the drone didn't get through the mockup stage, and work on the project was stopped later in 2012 due to lack of funding. As

Chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of RSK "MiG", Sergei Korotkov said to the press earlier, the development of Skat was discontinued. By the decision of Russian Defence Ministry, Sukhoi Holding became the new Head Developer of the Strike UCAV project. Still, Skat experience would be used by Sukhoi. RSK "MiG" specialists are expected to work on the new project. On 3 June 2013, MiG signed a research and development contract to build a UCAV, based on the Skat design. The

Sukhoi The JSC Sukhoi Company (, ) is a Russian aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Begovoy District, Northern Administrative Okrug, Moscow, that designs both civilian and military aircraft. Sukhoi was founded in the Soviet Union by Pavel Sukhoi ...

is using the R&D information from the Skat, in addition to their expertise on the

Sukhoi Su-57 The Sukhoi Su-57 (; NATO reporting name: Felon) is a twin-engine stealth multirole fighter aircraft developed by Sukhoi. It is the product of the PAK FA (, prospective aeronautical complex of front-line aviation) programme, which was in ...

, to develop their 20-ton Okhotnik-B stealth UCAV. In September 2018, it was reported the MiG has revived the program and that works on the Mikoyan Skat UCAV are currently underway. According to the CEO of MiG, the tactical and technical assignments for the Skat is planned to be approved by the end of 2019, and the development of the drone will start in 2020. As of June 2022, the development of the Skat seems inactive, as no news have been reported on it since 2019 and because the Skat was not among the future projects of MiG showcased at the 2021

MAKS air show MAKS (, ) is an international air show held at Zhukovsky International Airport, the home of the Gromov Flight Research Institute in Zhukovsky, Moscow Oblast, Zhukovsky, southeast of Moscow, Russia. The event was organized by the Russian Ministr ...

Design

The Skat is a low-observable, subsonic UCAV meant to carry weapons in two ventral weapons bays large enough for missiles such as the

Kh-31 The Kh-31 (; AS-17 'Krypton') is a Soviet and Russian air-to-surface missile carried by aircraft such as the MiG-29, Su-35 and the Su-57. It is capable of Mach number, Mach 3.5 and was the first supersonic anti-ship missile that could be launched ...

, powered by a single

Klimov UEC-Klimov () is a Russian manufacturer of gas turbine engines, main gearboxes and accessory drive gearboxes for transport aircraft. Originally established as ''Kirill Klimov Experimental Design Bureau'' in Saint-Petersburg under the directio ...

RD-5000B

turbofan A turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft engine, aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a combination of references to the preceding generation engine technology of the turbojet and the add ...

engine, a variant of the

RD-93 The Klimov RD-33 is a turbofan jet engine for a lightweight fighter jet and which is the primary engine for the Mikoyan MiG-29 and CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder. It was developed in OKB-117 led by S. P. Izotov (now OAO Klimov) from 1968 with production ...

. The single-engine subsonic design has an 11.5 meter (37.7 ft) wingspan, and is 10.25 meters (33.6 ft) long. The UCAV has a maximum takeoff weight of ten tons, with a maximum speed of 800 kilometers per hour (497 mph) at low altitude. It is intended to carry a combat load of up to two tons, with a combat radius of 2,000 km (1,240 miles). Possible roles include the suppression and attack of enemy air defenses. The first version of Skat to fly was planned to be piloted in order to meet Russian flight regulations. A number of aerodynamic configurations have been wind tunnel-tested, including with small twin fins. MiG has settled on a tailless configuration.

Specifications (Projected)

Missiles

supersonic Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound (Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...

air-launched missile (Kh-31A as

air-to-surface An air-to-surface missile (ASM) or air-to-ground missile (AGM) is a missile designed to be launched from military aircraft at targets on land or sea. There are also unpowered guided glide bombs not considered missiles. The two most common pro ...

missile and Kh-31P as the air-to-radar one)

Bombs

KAB-500Kr The KAB-500Kr (Correctable air bomb - 500 kg) is an electro-optical TV-guided fire and forget bomb developed by the Soviet Air Force in the 1980s. It remains in service with the Commonwealth of Independent States, CIS and various export custo ...

500 kg TV-guided bomb *

KAB-250 The KAB-250 is a family of aerial bombs developed in the 2000s. It comes in two forms, the KAB-250LG-E laser-guided bomb and KAB-250S-E satellite-guided bomb. It is being introduced into service with the Russian Air Force since 2020. KAB stands f ...

250 kg guided bombs

References

External links

Russia’s Sukhoi and MiG working on unmanned combat air vehicles

Aviationweek
{{Stealth aircraft Stealth aircraft Abandoned military aircraft projects of Russia Skat Single-engined jet aircraft Flying wings Unmanned military aircraft of Russia Unmanned stealth aircraft Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear 2010s Russian attack aircraft