MOSCOW, Feb 1 - RIA Novosti. A new version of the Russian Orion reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial vehicle, equipped with satellite communications, will perform its first flights in February-March, the Kronstadt drone developer company told RIA Novosti.
Kronstadt clarified that the satellite communication and control system can significantly increase the effective controlled range of the unmanned aerial vehicle. Currently, the range of the basic version of the Orion, without a satellite antenna, is limited by the range of direct radio visibility of the device from the ground control point.
The first flight model of the updated Orion was presented on January 27 to Russian 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 hood in the form of a teardrop-shaped influx from above in the front part of the fuselage. A satellite communication module is located under this fairing.
The Kronstadt company has built in Dubna Russia's first specialized plant for the production of large-sized UAVs. The enterprise was built in a short time – from April to December 2021. 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 Kronstadt UAVs, including Orion with a satellite antenna, as well as Sirius, Helios-RLD and promising unmanned systems.
The Orion drone developed by Kronstadt belongs to the class of medium-high impact unmanned aerial vehicles of long flight duration. Its maximum take-off weight is 1,150 kilograms, cruising flight speed is 200 kilometers per hour, 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 payload is 200 kilograms.
World standard
As Denis Fedutinov, a leading Russian expert in the field of unmanned aviation, noted, the presence of a satellite communication channel at Orion is already, one might say, the world standard for unmanned systems of this class. "This feature allows you to more fully use the flight characteristics of the UAV, removing the limitations 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 USA, Israel, China, Turkey, Iran," he said.
According to Fedutinov, the creation by Kronstadt of facilities for the serial production of unmanned aircraft systems developed by the company is a positive example of competent planning, which indicates a high level of coordination between the developer and the Russian military department. He stressed the timeliness of the appearance of a specialized UAV plant in Dubna.
