Mikoyan Skat

Mikoyan Skat

Company type	Unmanned combat aerial vehicle project
Industry	Aerospace, Defense
Founded	2005
Founder	Mikoyan (Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG)
Fate	Development suspended in 2012, resumed in 2018, dormant as of 2022
Headquarters	Moscow , Russia
Parent	Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG

The Mikoyan Skat (Russian: Микоян Скат, named after the skate fish) represents a stealth-oriented unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) concept that has been under development by Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG since 2005, intended for use by the Russian Ministry of Defence.

Development

The origins of the Skat UCAV project trace back to 2005 when Mikoyan initiated its design. Prioritizing stealth capabilities, the drone was conceived with a flying wing layout shaped as a triangle, incorporating composite materials and featuring two internal weapon bays to conceal its armaments. Its only full-scale mockup was unveiled at the MAKS 2007 aerospace exhibition. Despite this presentation, the project did not advance beyond the mockup phase and was halted in 2012 due to financial constraints.

At that time, Sergei Korotkov, then CEO of RSK "MiG", announced the suspension of Skat’s development. Subsequently, the Russian Defence Ministry appointed Sukhoi as the lead developer for the Strike UCAV initiative. Nevertheless, Sukhoi planned to leverage experience gained from Skat, with RSK "MiG" engineers anticipated to contribute to the new program.Template:Fix/category On 3 June 2013, MiG entered into a research and development agreement to create a UCAV derived from the Skat design.

Sukhoi has incorporated data from Skat’s R&D alongside their expertise from the Sukhoi Su-57 program to develop their 20-ton stealth UCAV known as Okhotnik-B.

In September 2018, reports indicated that MiG had resumed work on the Mikoyan Skat UCAV project.

According to MiG’s CEO, tactical and technical specifications for Skat were expected to receive approval by late 2019, with development scheduled to commence in 2020.

As of June 2022, progress on Skat appears dormant; no updates have emerged since 2019, and the drone was absent from MiG's lineup of forthcoming projects displayed at the 2021 MAKS (air show).

Design

The Skat is a stealthy, subsonic unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) designed to house armaments within two ventral bays capable of accommodating missiles like the Kh-31. It is powered by a single Klimov RD-5000B turbofan engine, which is a derivative of the RD-93. Featuring a single-engine, subsonic configuration, the aircraft has a wingspan measuring 11.5 meters (37.7 ft) and an overall length of 10.25 meters (33.6 ft). The UCAV’s maximum takeoff weight reaches ten tons, with a top speed of approximately 800 kilometers per hour (497 mph) at low altitude. It is engineered to carry up to two tons of combat payload and operates with a combat radius of 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles).

Its intended mission profiles include suppression and destruction of enemy air defense systems. The initial version planned for flight was to be manned to comply with Russian aviation regulations. Various aerodynamic layouts have undergone wind tunnel evaluation, including designs featuring small twin vertical stabilizers. Ultimately, MiG has chosen a tailless design for the final configuration.

Specifications (Projected)

Missiles

• Kh-31 supersonic air-launched missile

(Kh-31A variant serves as an air-to-surface missile, while Kh-31P functions as an anti-radiation air-to-radar missile)

Bombs

• KAB-500Kr 500 kg TV-guided bomb
• KAB-250 250 kg precision-guided bombs

External links

• Russia’s Sukhoi and MiG collaborating on unmanned combat aerial vehicles
• Aviation Week Archived 2012-02-05 at the Wayback Machine