As reported by the [...] TASS news agency, the Kronstadt company will equip Orion unmanned aerial vehicles with a satellite communication system, which it will offer to other drone manufacturers as a component. This was announced to TASS by Sergey Bogatikov, CEO of Kronstadt JSC, on the eve of the Dubai Airshow 2021 international Airshow, which takes place from November 14 to 18, 2021 in the United Arab Emirates.
The layout[i] of the Orion-E long-duration unmanned aerial vehicle developed by Kronstadt JSC in a variant equipped with a satellite communication system in the exposition of the Dubai Airshow 2021 International Airshow. Dubai (UAE), 11/14/2021 (c) Telegram channel "Vestnik PVO"[/i]
"Work on the creation of Orion-E with a satellite communication system is being carried out in cooperation with domestic developers. In 2022, it is expected to receive the letter "O" (assigned at the stage of adjusting design documentation based on the results of manufacturing and preliminary tests of the pilot batch) for a complex with a satellite communication channel," he said.
The satellite communication system developed for Orion-E can be installed not only on unmanned aerial vehicles developed by Kronstadt, but also offered to other manufacturers of heavy-class unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as a component," Bogatikov noted.
He explained that over-the-horizon radio communication makes it possible to significantly increase the effective controlled range of an unmanned aerial vehicle, "unleash" take-off and landing airfields. "Without satellite communication, the range is limited by direct visibility and is no more than 250-300 km," he added.
The General Director of Kronstadt JSC recalled that initially, when forming the tactical and technical task for the development of the Pacer-UAV, satellite communication was not intended. "In order to expand the range of tasks to be solved and the areas of operation of the complex, as well as to increase the export capabilities of Orion-E, Kronstadt came to the conclusion that it was necessary to equip the complex with a UAV with a similar solution," Bogatikov said.
