Russia has developed a family of heavy strike drones, Head of the State Hi-Tech Corporation Rostec Sergei Chemezov announced on Monday.

"We already have the carriers and the work in this area is being carried out not only by Rostec enterprises but also by the Urals Civil Aviation Plant and Kronshtadt Company," the chief executive said, responding to a question about the pace of work on Russian heavy strike drones.

As for Rostec, the Sukhoi Company integrated into the United Aircraft Corporation has completed the development and started the trials of the Okhotnik (Hunter) heavy strike drone, Chemezov said.

"It has already been tested in conjunction with the Su-57 fifth-generation plane. This is a cutting-edge drone that can fly to long ranges and be controlled both by an operator on the ground and by the crew of an aircraft operating in conjunction with it. The drone can also carry quite powerful armament," Chemezov explained.

Russia’s Defense Ministry has requested the defense industry to maximally speed up the work on all these projects, the Rostec chief said.