The first factory for the production of Orion and Sirius attack drones has been built in Russia. On the air of Sputnik radio, military expert Dmitry Litovkin commented on the event.
In Dubna, near Moscow, the construction of Russia's first factory for the production of attack drones has been completed, the Kronstadt company, which worked on the project, reported.
"Construction and installation works have been completed in the production building of Russia's first specialized serial factory of large-size unmanned aerial vehicles. Construction took place from April to December 2021 – this is the first aviation plant built in post-Soviet Russia, " RIA Novosti quotes the text of the message.
The plant will produce Orion, Sirius attack drones and two types of helicopter attack drones. The assembly of the first UAVs will begin in December.
On the air of Sputnik radio, military expert, executive editor of the Independent Military Review Dmitry Litovkin called the appearance of such a plant a necessity.
"This summer, within the framework of the Army-2021 forum, the Ministry of Defense and the Kronstadt Group of companies signed a contract for the supply of a large batch of Orion-type attack drones. These are the first unmanned vehicles of this class, strategic. The other day, the Ministry of Defense demonstrated video footage of the use of this drone, which destroyed a helicopter-type drone with an anti-tank guided missile, also hit a ground target. It is a great achievement for our army that we have such equipment. And the appearance of the plant is a necessity if we are going to mass-produce these machines in the interests of the Ministry of Defense," Dmitry Litovkin said.
He also noted the interest of other states in this technique.
"At the Dubai Airshow in Dubai, Russia actively promoted this drone and, apparently, there is an interest of foreign countries in buying such machines. Recently, it was reported that the Malaysian Defense Ministry has included the Orion-E drone in its shortlist. In terms of price and quality, the Russian drone will definitely win against Western models, and in its characteristics it surpasses the same Turkish Bayraktar," the military expert concluded.
