NTV television showed a full-sized model of the bat-like plane known as Skat, which means "stingray," at an airshow just outside Moscow -- the first public glimpse of the project run by Russia's MiG corporation.

The aircraft has a flattened, swept-back profile reminiscent of the US air force's stealth aircraft, with a bubble-like cockpit area, although the plane will not have a pilot, NTV reported.

According to the report, the Skat's constructors claim the stealth technology will make it even less vulnerable than the US version to radar detection.

"Many firms are trying to work in this area, but few so far have achieved results. Today we have begun real work on building an assault craft," the director of MiG's Mikoyan design bureau, Vladimir Barkovsky, said on NTV television.

RIA Novosti news agency quoted Barkovsky saying that the Skat will be able to attack land and sea targets, particularly enemy anti-aircraft sites, even if coming under heavy fire.

It will weigh 10 tonnes, be able to carry up to two tonnes of ordnance and have a range of 4,000 kilometres (2,485 miles), RIA Novosti reported.

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