The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Kronstadt Group (St. Petersburg) signed the acceptance certificate of the first Russian drone of long flight Orion. This was reported by TASS agency with reference to the general designer of the enterprise Nikolay Dolzhenkov. In total, three such devices will soon enter the troops.
“The certificate of technical acceptance and transfer of the complex has been signed. There are financial nuances that need to be finalized so that the contract is de jure closed. Technically, everything has been decided and verified, ”Dolzhenkov said.
The take-off weight of Orion is about 1 ton. After being adopted, the brainchild of Kronstadt will become the largest combat UAV in the Russian army.
Today, the Outpost weighing 450 kg remains the “champion” in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Previously, this drone was manufactured under an Israeli license, but last year the device was completely “turned around” - Russian experts replaced all foreign components in it with domestic analogues.
“Everything was done right”
According to experts, Orion (“product 90”) is a multifunctional unmanned complex capable of performing a wide range of tasks, including striking ground targets. According to the international classification, the Russian UAV belongs to the type of medium-altitude drones of long flight duration or MALE (Medium-altitude long-endurance).
The experience of foreign countries (primarily the USA and Israel) demonstrates the effectiveness of the use of such drones in local conflicts. Also, devices of the MALE class represent the technological basis for creating heavier and larger “relatives”, experts explain.
- Demo Orion at MAKS-2019
- RT
- © Alexey Zakvasin
The development of "Orion" was launched in 2011 under the code "Pacer". Tests of the complex began in 2016 at the Gromov Flight Research Institute (Zhukovsky). As of the end of 2019, they were in the final stages. The St. Petersburg company plans to produce 30 devices per year.
Orion’s flight altitude is 7.5 km, cruising speed is 200 km / h, payload mass is 200 kg, flight duration is over 24 hours, wingspan is 16 m. The UAV glider is completely made of composite materials. The flight of the device is carried out in automatic mode at all stages.
In a conversation with RT, the chief designer of KB-602 of the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) Dmitry Dyakonov called his on-board equipment one of the main advantages of Orion. The equipment installed on the UAV allows aerial reconnaissance, patrolling, topographic surveying of the terrain and determining the coordinates of ground and surface objects.
According to the developer, “Orion” is equipped with an optical-electronic system with television and infrared channels, a high-resolution digital aerial photo complex, radar equipment and direction finding equipment for radio emission sources. The Orion software provides processing of the collected data, generates various reports and reports for the operator.
“Orion Avionics deserves special attention. From the point of view of mathematics and algorithms, everything was done correctly. In the process of creating on-board systems, our designers faced big problems due to the lack of domestic element base. However, given the positive reviews of the military, these problems were successfully resolved, ”said Dyakonov.
According to the expert, in the process of implementing the Orion project, Kronstadt engineers, together with colleagues from other Russian companies, developed a number of key technological innovations that had no analogues in Russia. So, in addition to eliminating the deficit of microelectronic filling, new composite materials and assemblies were created.
In particular, Russian designers have found a replacement for the Austrian Rotax 914 piston engine, which is considered one of the best power plants for devices of a similar dimension. On the Orion, an APD-110/120 engine developed by Agat, rated at 120 hp, was installed. and weighing 105 kg.
- UAV "Orion" on flight tests
- © kronshtadt.ru
Dmitry Dyakonov believes that the Kronstadt team coped with all the tasks set by the customer by creating a modern MALE class drone. In October 2019, Nikolay Dolzhenkov received the Marshal Ogarkov Prize, awarded by the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST), to individuals who made a significant contribution to strengthening the defense capability of the Russian Federation for the development of Orion.
“Thanks to Orion, Russia has joined the elite club of manufacturers of unmanned aerial systems of the MALE class,” commented the award director of the CAST Ruslan Pukhov.
In a conversation with RT, Eduard Baghdasaryan, an expert at the Aeronet national technological initiative working group, suggested that Orion could become one of the most popular domestic UAVs in the “middle weight class”. According to him, in the army a drone will be used for reconnaissance and striking.
“Reduce the risk for the flight crew”
Currently, St. Petersburg engineers are developing a new UAV “Sirius” (the name “Orion-2” previously appeared in the media), which will surpass the predecessor in terms of weight and size and tactical and technical characteristics. RT Director General of Kronstadt Sergey Bogatikov spoke about this project at the International Aviation and Space Salon (MAKS) - 2019.
The mass of the Sirius will be 5 tons, the wingspan - 30 meters, the glider length - 13 meters, the payload mass - 1 tons, the maximum flight height - 12 km, cruising speed - 295 km / h. The drone will be able to overcome 10 thousand km and remain in the air for up to 40 hours at maximum load.
Other domestic UAV Altius-U, which first flew into the sky in August 2019, has similar weight and size characteristics. The mass of the device is 6 tons, the duration of the flight is more than 24 hours. The drone is equipped with a satellite communication channel, which, according to experts, makes the radius of its application "virtually unlimited."
However, the heaviest and largest UAV in the Russian army will be the S-70 Okhotnik reconnaissance and strike complex. The debut in the sky of this car also took place in August 2019, and already in September the drone began to work out tasks with the fifth-generation fighter Su-57.
The developer of the "Hunter" (Sukhoi company) and the Russian Ministry of Defense do not publish the exact characteristics of the UAV. According to experts, the drone weighs about 20 tons, and its size is comparable to a typical operational tactical aircraft of the Russian Federation.
Eduard Baghdasaryan drew attention to the importance of the fact that Russian engineers put in the new drones the function of striking. Especially for Sukhoi and Kronstadt drones, Tactical Missile Weapons Corporation (KTRV) is currently developing small-sized ammunition weighing from 50 to 100 kg.
“There are great prospects for heavy Russian reconnaissance and strike vehicles. The range of their combat use is extremely wide. In addition to conducting radar and optical reconnaissance, they will be able to strike with bombs and homing shells. Their appearance in service will reduce the risk to the flight crew. The need of the Russian army for such drones is very high, ”Bagdasaryan summed up.