International

Russia can now call on a small-caliber ammunition - the new Drel air bomb - for their fifth generation fighter Su-57 (PAK FA).

Deputy head of Techmash Concern Alexander Kochkin said: “The Drel can be used on all types of aircraft, from long-range strategic bombers to ground attack planes.”

The stealth bomb’s announcement quickly follows Russia’s assumed poisoning of double agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, as well as the expulsion of Putin-backed diplomats across the West - and could be read as a further signal of aggression from the Kremlin.

In the past few days, Russia has retaliated against the Western axis by threatening to expel British diplomats from Moscow, and now it is ratcheting up its military capabilities.

Techmash General Director Vladimir Lepin claimed that the Drel bomb might enter the Russian armoury in 2018, virtually immediately after completing its test period.

The ‘fire and forget’ bomb can be dropped by a bomber jet without entering enemy airspace by gliding for over 30 kilometres (90 miles).