MOSCOW, 8 Sep-RIA Novosti. Russian attack drones have confirmed during tests the ability to accurately hit ground targets with unguided ammunition from a high altitude due to the use of a new sight, a source in the military-industrial complex told RIA Novosti.
The source added that the sighting and navigation system created specifically for Orion provides the maximum deviation from the target for unguided aerial bombs dropped from a height of several kilometers, no more than 10 meters.
A new concept of using drones
As Denis Fedutinov, a leading expert in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles, explained to RIA Novosti, sighting and navigation systems designed for the effective use of unguided ammunition were previously used on manned aircraft. We are talking, in particular, about the Hephaestus system, which has proven its effectiveness in Syria, which is installed on the Su-24M.
"Now we see a similar approach in relation to unmanned aircraft systems. It is able to significantly reduce the cost of strikes against ground targets while maintaining sufficiently high accuracy rates, " the expert noted.
The expert added that the typical approach in the world today is to equip UAVs only with high-precision missile and bomb weapons, but the production of such weapons is very expensive, which is a deterrent in its widespread use.
"Unguided weapons are much cheaper, in addition, being a common solution with other aircraft, including manned carriers, they are produced in much larger batches, which makes it much more affordable. The use of such an approach for attack drones can increase the flexibility in the actions of the Russian Armed Forces and, in addition, provides favorable advantages to Russian drones in the global weapons market," Fedutinov added.
"Orion" belongs to the class of medium-high impact unmanned aerial vehicles of long flight duration. Its maximum take-off weight is 1150 kilograms, cruising flight speed is 200 kilometers per hour, the maximum flight altitude is seven kilometers, the device can stay in the air for up to a day. The maximum mass of the drone's combat load is 200 kilograms.
In addition to unguided bombs, the Orion is capable of carrying adjustable bombs and guided missiles, in particular the upgraded Vikhr-M missiles.