The Russian Ministry of National Defense has officially confirmed the delivery of the first three Orion Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) built by the Kronstadt Group.
Nikolai Dołżenkow, the chief designer at the Kronstadt Group, told TASS that the new drones were transported to one of the military bases and, after being checked by the appropriate personnel, received acceptance certificates. He also stated that acceptance of the Orion UAV is an important event for the Russian army, because Orion is the first system of its kind to enter service in the Russian army.
Orion is characterized by low weight and flying time - up to 24 hours, which makes it an ideal aircraft for use in surveillance and reconnaissance tasks. It can carry a payload of approximately 200 kg, with which it can carry out precise strikes against soldiers, vehicles or buildings. Although not suitable for operations on a conventional battlefield, in an environment with advanced enemy anti-aircraft defense and fighter aircraft, it seems to be created for COIN - counterinsurgency operations against an enemy with little or no anti-aircraft defense capability.
To date, Russia's efforts have focused largely on the development of small and micro UAVs for tactical reconnaissance and electronic warfare on a conventional battlefield. These systems were widely used in eastern Ukraine and Syria by separatist forces and the Russian army.
Sources: overtdefense.com, defence-blog.com, tass.com
