THIS is the dramatic moment a Russian stealth drone is shot out of the sky by Vladimir Putin’s Su-57 warplane.
The £11.5 million S-70 Okhotnik stealth drone can be seen exploding in the air in the extraordinary footage.
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Vision of the incident shows two Kremlin military aircrafts speeding across the sky over eastern Ukraine when the trailing plane fires a missile which hits the one in front.
Russian pro-war Z channels initially claimed that a Ukrainian war plane had been hit by a Russian aircraft.
However, the burnt wreckage on the ground near Ukrainian-controlled Kostiantynivka had distinct Russian insignia on it.
The humiliating error has been described as “friendly fire” gone wrong
Russian Military Informant Telegram channel stated: “The enemy is publishing a video of the debris with red stars painted on it.
“It is believed that there was “friendly fire”.
“But its cause at such a short distance is unclear – one plane literally shot down the other at point-blank range.”
Ukrainian war journalist Denys Kazansky reported: “The Russian (military) appears to have shot down its own plane again.
“It fell on Ukrainian-controlled territory near Kostiantynivka.
“(Pro-war Russian) Z-channels joyfully announced the shooting down of the Ukrainian plane, but unpleasant news awaits them…”
Russian Fighterbomber Telegram channel insisted: “All our planes and crews are home. Alive, healthy and whole.”
There had been no loss of pilots, he said.
Russian Z blogger Thirteenth said: “A Hunter UAV was shot down.
“Probably knocked off course.
“There is no pilot there, so there is no tragedy. We will build another one.”
The wreckage of the drone is now in Ukrainian hands which may give access to some of its secrets.
Russia’s lethal stealth combat drones, the S-70 Okhotnik, is designed to make it invisible to radar while it is capable of flying from Moscow to London and back on a single mission.
Russian Su-57 fighter pilots of the future will go into battle supported by up to four of the pilotless drones.
Hunters are equipped with missiles plus electro-optical spying radar and reconnaissance gear.
Hundreds are now in service after a prototype was unveiled in 2019, controlled first by an operator and then from the cockpit of an accompanying fighter jet.
Russian Deputy Defence Minister Alexey Krivoruchko said: ”The drone’s roll-out signifies the end of its assembly as a whole and its outfitting with all the required onboard equipment.”
Vladimir Putin personally oversaw the development of Russia’s drone air force, boasting recently that 2,000 Russian war machines now fly without pilots.
He added: “We need to continue to work on them, including the use of artificial intelligence.
“And the experience we have in using them.”
It’s not the first time the Russian dictator has been left humiliated.
The desperate Kremlin leader is “seething” over the Ukrainian blitz that has seen Russia scrambling to defend Kursk, insiders claim.
The humiliated tyrant is even said to be battling against his own men as an army general reportedly accused the Kremlin leadership of dismissing clear intelligence warning of the huge Kyiv counter-invasion.
The devastating surge into Kursk and several other Russian villages has been a “slap in the face” for a moody Putin as his flailing war continues to stutter.
A Kremlin official told Russian outlet Politika.Kozlov Ukraine’s mini invasion has “made Putin nervous” as he struggles to defend against the oncoming army of trucks, tanks and loyal soldiers.
The added: “This is a slap in the face for the president. We have been unable to push the enemy back.
“A danger to the population has been created in Russia’s regions. European gas has gone up in price. This is not how a country confident of its victory behaves.”
It comes as the desperate despot has drafted in his favourite “war toys”, including robot tanks, kamikaze stealth drones, paratrooper dogs, and drone detecting wolves.
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