Orion unmanned aerial vehiclesMOSCOW, Feb. 1 A new version of the Russian reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial vehicle aircraft «Orion», equipped with satellite communications, will perform the first flights in February-March, RIA Novosti was told in the company that developed the drone «Kronstadt».
"The first stage of flight tests of the new "Orion" planned to be held in the first quarter of this year", the company said.
Kronstadt specified that the satellite communications and control system can significantly increase the effective controlled range of an unmanned aerial vehicle. At present, the range of the basic version of Orion, without a satellite dish, is limited by the range of direct radio visibility of the device from the ground control center. The first flight model of the updated Orion was presented on January 27 to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at the new Kronstadt plant in Dubna near Moscow. A characteristic external difference of the new version of the drone is a radio-transparent dome in the form of a drop-shaped influx on top in the front of the fuselage. A satellite communications module is located under this fairing. The Kronstadt company built the first specialized plant in Russia for the production of large-sized UAVs in Dubna. The enterprise was erected in a short time — from April to December last year. Kronstadt invested 12.5 billion rubles of extra-budgetary funds in the construction of a new plant, as well as in the reconstruction of buildings and workshops of the DMZ in 2021. The new plant will produce the entire line of the company's UAVs, including Orion with a satellite antenna, as well as devices Sirius», «Helios-RLD» and advanced unmanned systems. The Orion drone developed by the Kronstadt company belongs to the class of medium-altitude shock unmanned vehicles with a long flight duration. Its maximum takeoff weight is 1,150 kilograms, cruising speed is 200 kilometers per hour, maximum flight altitude is seven kilometers, and the device can stay in the air for up to a day. The maximum weight of the drone payload is 200 kilograms.January 28, 14:28 Orion from Dubna: how strike drones are produced for the armyWorld standardAs Denis Fedutinov, a leading Russian expert in the field of unmanned aviation, noted, Orion's satellite communication channel is, one might say, the world standard for unmanned systems such a class. «This opportunity allows you to more fully use the flight performance of the UAV, removing restrictions on the range of action. By equipping their systems with satellite communication channels, all the world's developers of systems of a similar dimension are now going — the United States, Israel, China, Turkey, Iran,» he said. According to Fedutinov, the creation by the Kronstadt company of capacities for mass production of unmanned aerial systems developed by the company is a positive example of competent planning, which indicates a high level of coherence between the developer and the Russian military department. He emphasized the timeliness of the appearance of a specialized UAV plant in Dubna.