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Russia publicly unveiled the S-71K Kovyor, an air-launched stand-off weapon for its Su-57E fifth-generation export fighter, at the El Alamein International Airshow in Egypt, which opened on 8 September 2026.
The Kovyor abandons the conventional cylindrical missile body for a flattened, aircraft-like planform with a trapezoidal nose, low-mounted swept wings and inverted V-tails.
Turbojet propulsion and three internal fuel tanks give it a powered cruise profile of about 300-350 km, so it can approach a target from a different axis than the launching aircraft.
It carries a 250 kg OFAB-250-270 high-explosive fragmentation warhead and uses inertial navigation, without a sophisticated terminal seeker, so it is meant for pre-programmed fixed targets.
It was shown alongside the S-71M, part of a Russian effort to field large numbers of comparatively cheap stand-off weapons beside its costlier precision missiles.
A stand-off weapon lets an aircraft strike from outside the reach of the target's air defences. Because the missile flies the last few hundred kilometres by itself, the launching aircraft never has to enter the defended zone.
Simple Analogy: Throwing a stone from beyond the fence rather than climbing over it.
Russian state aviation conglomerate that brings together the Sukhoi, MiG and other design bureaus and markets the Su-57E abroad
Originator of the Su-57 family, including the Su-57E export variant for which the Kovyor is designed
Egyptian air show used by exporters to display combat aircraft and munitions to West Asian and African customers; the 2026 edition opened on 8 September
The Indian Air Force's largest fighter fleet is of Russian origin, so Russian air-launched weapon developments bear directly on India's inventory and upgrade choices.
India's own air-launched stand-off capability is centred on the air-launched BrahMos carried by the Su-30MKI, a supersonic cruise missile of a very different design philosophy from the subsonic, low-cost Kovyor.
India's fifth-generation fighter programme means the weapons ecosystem built around export fifth-generation aircraft is of direct professional interest.
Weapons that let aircraft strike without entering contested airspace shape how air forces plan against layered air-defence networks.
General Awareness > Missiles, aircraft and defence technology in the news
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A munition launched from beyond the range of the target's defences so the launching platform stays outside the threat envelope.
Guidance using onboard accelerometers and gyroscopes, requiring no external signal but unable to identify a target in flight.
The outline of an airframe as seen from directly above; the Kovyor's flattened, aircraft-like planform distinguishes it from tube-shaped missiles.