Tests of the strike version of the Orion drone with the Vikhr-M anti-tank missile are planned to be carried out by the end of 2021.

This was announced by the general director of JSC "Kronstadt" Sergei Bogatikov.

“We should test our complex together with Vikhr-M missiles at the end of this year,” he told TASS on the sidelines of the Army-2021 International Military-Technical Forum.

Sergei Bogatikov also noted that the company is currently integrating the rocket into the UAV system.

These works, according to him, are now "in full swing."

They are planned to be completed by the end of the year.

In July this year, the information that the Orions can be equipped with Vortexes was also confirmed by the Kalashnikov group of companies.

Specialists of this holding are engaged in the adaptation of Vikhr missiles for use on various carriers.

At the Army-2021 forum, Bogatikov also said that from one Orion control panel it is possible to control the actions of several such drones at once.

Thus, he confirmed that Orion can work in a UAV group.

  • Russian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) "Orion" of the "Kronstadt" company at the International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-2021

  • RIA News

  • © Evgeny Biyatov

It should be noted that the export version of the Orion-E drone was demonstrated at the MAKS-2021 air show in July this year.

Then in "Kronstadt" they reported that foreign customers are showing interest in the device.

“The Kronshtadt company together with Rosoboronexport JSC at the jubilee XV International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-2021 held negotiations on the supply of a complex with Orion-E unmanned aerial vehicles with delegations from 13 countries, including the CIS countries, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa, ”the message said.

This information was confirmed by the General Director of Rosoboronexport Alexander Mikheev.

“The first contracts have already been signed and are being implemented,” he said in July.

"Hi-tech"

Orion is a medium-altitude drone with a long flight duration.

Its maximum take-off weight reaches 1 ton with a payload of 200 kg.

The UAV can be in flight mode for up to 24 hours and operate in any weather conditions.

The radar positioning system installed on the Orion allows takeoff and landing in the absence of satellite navigation or signal suppression.

In addition, the Orion's distinctive feature is its low acoustic signature, which makes the device silent.

"In the production of the Orion complex, unique advanced technologies and modern automated means of objective quality control are used," the developers say.

In particular, when creating a drone, an energy-efficient electric impulse anti-icing system was introduced for the first time.

Thanks to this, the UAV is able to perform the assigned tasks even in the most severe weather conditions.

In addition, the airframe is almost entirely made of carbon fiber.

According to media reports, the strike Orion can use a wide range of ammunition.

Among them are the Kh-50 small-sized aircraft missile, the KAB-20 adjustable small-sized aircraft bomb, the UPAB-50 guided gliding bomb with the Grad MLRS warhead, the KAB-50 adjustable small-sized aviation bomb with the Grad MLRS warhead, unguided aerial bomb FAB-50 - also with a warhead MLRS "Grad".

It is worth noting that Orion has already been used in combat conditions in Syria.

As follows from the relevant video materials shown on the air of the Russia 1 TV channel in February this year, one of the Orions made 38 sorties to the SAR, including 17 with strikes at terrorist targets.

  • Stills from the reportage of the TV channel "Russia 1"

  • © Frame video

At the same time, "Orion" can be used not only for reconnaissance or striking the enemy, but also for solving problems in the civilian sphere.

As noted on the Kronstadt website, the range of application of this UAV "varies from reconnaissance and information support of the army to fire safety and delivery of goods to hard-to-reach areas."

Rocket "Whirlwind"

According to analysts, the replenishment of Orion's arsenal with Vikhr-M missiles can significantly increase its combat potential.

“The use of anti-tank missiles gives him the ability to hit armored targets on the battlefield.

In this matter, we generally follow the same path as foreign competitors.

So I can only evaluate the Whirlwind UAV equipment positively, "military observer Dmitry Drozdenko said in an interview with RT.

Recall that "Whirlwind" is an anti-tank missile system, originally intended for installation on airplanes and helicopters.

There is also a ship modification "Whirlwind-K".

The missiles of the complex are capable of hitting armored vehicles and low-speed air targets.

  • Helicopter Ka-52 "Alligator"

  • RIA News

  • © Konstantin Mikhalchevsky

It is already known that the upgraded Ka-52M helicopter will be equipped with this complex.

This was announced in August by the commander-in-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces Sergey Surovikin.

In addition, earlier the Kalashnikov company informed that Vikhri could be installed on the newest Mi-28NE and Mi-35P helicopters.

In July of this year, "Kalashnikov" published a video of the tests of the "Whirlwind" from the reconnaissance and attack helicopter Ka-52 "Alligator" at the training ground of the Russian Defense Ministry.

During the testing of the equipment, 22 missile launches were made.

The company's website notes that as a result of the tests carried out, all the declared characteristics of the rocket were confirmed. 

"Not inferior to foreign manufacturers"

In an interview with TASS, Nikolai Dolzhenkov, General Designer of Kronshtadt JSC, noted that today Russia has caught up with foreign competitors in terms of the overall level of unmanned technologies.

“We still need to catch up in terms of target loads, element base, power plants.

But in terms of the general level of technology, we are not inferior.

I say this as a person who has seen similar foreign samples of this technology - the same Turkish, Chinese, Israeli and American vehicles, ”he said in August.

Military expert Alexei Leonkov agrees with this assessment.

Orion is a dynamically developing project.

Recently there was only a reconnaissance version, and today there is already a strike version.

Russia now has many interesting initiatives in this area, and in terms of development it is not inferior to foreign manufacturers, "Leonkov said in an interview with RT.

In turn, Dmitry Drozdenko recalled that in the Soviet years, domestic developments in the field of unmanned aircraft were among the best in the world.

“The Soviet Union, perhaps, even overtook its competitors. In the USSR, a lot of attention was paid to drones, there were even unmanned supersonic reconnaissance vehicles that were in service. But after the collapse of the Union, leadership was lost. Now we are closing the gap, ”concluded Drozdenko.