When two white lines of smoke form in the sky near the front line in eastern Ukraine, it usually means one thing. Russian jets are about to attack.

What happened remains unanswered, according to the BBC: One Russian warplane shot down another in so-called friendly fire 20 kilometers from the front line or a Ukrainian jet shot down a Russian plane?

Ukrainian soldiers became concerned and soon realized from the fallen debris that they had witnessed the destruction of Russia’s newest weapon, the fighter jet stealth S-70.

The “Hunter” drone and the aircraft that chased it

This is no ordinary drone. Named Okhotnik (Hunter), this heavy drone is as big as a fighter jet but without a cockpit. It is very difficult to track down and its developers claim that there is no one like it in the whole world.

Video, however, shows a second Russian Su-57 jet, which appears to be chasing it.

The Russian plane may have been trying to re-establish contact with the drone, but as both were flying over a Ukrainian air defense zone, a decision was likely made to destroy the Okhotnik so that it does not end up in the hands of the enemy.

Neither Moscow nor Kiev have officially commented on what happened in the skies near Kostyanivka. However, analysts believe the Russians likely lost control of their drone, possibly due to interference from Ukraine’s electronic warfare systems.

This war has seen many drones, but nothing like this Russian S-70.

It weighs more than 20 tons and is rumored to have a range of 6,000 km.

These deadly weapons use satellite navigation to make them even more dangerous.

So what was Okhotnik doing flying a Su-57 jet? According to Kiev-based aviation expert Anatoliy Khrapchynskyi, the warplane may have transmitted a signal from a ground base to the drone to increase its operational range.

OR stealth drone failure it is undoubtedly a big blow to the Russian army. It was supposed to go into production this year, but clearly the drone isn’t ready.

Four originals S-70 are believed to have been built and it is possible that the one that blew up in the sky over Ukraine was the most advanced of the four.

The drone still hides a lot of information

Even though it was destroyed, Ukrainian forces may still be able to gather valuable information about Okhotnik.

“We may find out if it has its own radars to find targets or if the munitions are pre-programmed with coordinates where to hit“, explains Anatoly Krapczynski.

Just by studying images from the crash site, he thinks it’s clear that the drone’s stealth capabilities are rather limited.

No doubt the wreckage will be investigated by Ukrainian engineers and their findings will be passed on to Kiev’s Western partners.

And yet, this incident shows that the Russians are not standing still, relying on their massive manpower and conventional weapons.

They are working on new and smarter ways to fight. And what failed today may succeed next time.