The Orion UAV was shown flying at the recent MAKS show—but only in this video. (Image: KT Group)
Russia’s first medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAV system
was shown in part and in video at last month’s MAKS show near Moscow. But
the privately owned Kronshtadt (KT)
Group that displayed the Orion says that more than one example has flown, and
the UAV is
ready for production. KT has
been developing it under a contract with the Russian MoD won in 2011. At MAKS, KT signed an
agreement with Rosboronexport to market the Orion for export.
The recent publicity may have been prompted by KT’s need to
raise funds to complete the project. IFK Sistema, a business
chaired by a prominent Russian oligarch Vladimir Evtushenkov, acquired full
control over KT in
October 2015. But this group is now experiencing difficulties servicing its
debts and investing in Orion, Fregat and other unmanned aviation ventures.
The initial version of Orion has a gross weight of 1,200 kg
(2,600 pounds) and is designed for reconnaissance only. But an armed version
could be developed, claimed KT’s
chief executive officer Armen Isaakyan. KT said that during the past
five years since the Orion project began in earnest, it has managed to form a
capable industrial team and “developed technologies that never before existed
in this country…and those we could not procure from the West.” According to
Isaakyan, a number of prototypes have flown and they have proved the advertised
flight performance.
KT revealed
only limited data about the Orion: a payload of 200 kg (440 pounds); maximum
altitude of 7,500 meters (24,750 feet); an operational radius of 250 km (135
nm); and an endurance of up to 24 hours. Moreover, only an incomplete airframe
was shown at MAKS;
it was lacking its right wing plus a handful of components. The UAV has a
similar appearance to the American MQ-1 Predator, with a wingspan
estimated at 50 feet and carbon-fiber fuselage with load-bearing structure made
using modern diffusion-bonding techniques. The Orion’s onboard systems are
electric-only, with no pneumatics or hydraulics. KT did not release any
information on the powerplant, which appears to be a supercharged diesel
driving a pusher propeller.
The
Orion features an electro-impulse de-icing system and other innovative
solutions enabling it to operate in “an extended area of climatic conditions,
including the extreme North.” It is likely to come equipped with high-speed
satcom using a 600-mm (23.6-inch) parabolic antenna operating in 11-15 kHz
wideband, which KT exhibited
at MAKS 2017,
saying that ground trials will start in September.
The
video shows the first prototype equipped with a gyro-stabilized turret under
the forward fuselage, housing electro-optics operating in the visual and
infrared spectrums. There are high-resolution cameras mounted in the
mid-fuselage. Alternatively, the Orion can carry AESAradar for mapping and target detection, plus
equipment for locating hostile air defense and radio-emitting objects.
Collected data is fed in real time to a road-transportable container serving as
control post managing four to six UAVs.
KT employs
1,300 and claims to have been in the high-tech market for a quarter of a
century, with 10 years of experience in unmanned aerial and maritime systems.
Rosboronexport said that there is demand for the Orion in Southeast Asia, the
Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and revealed a broader plan to win “a
substantial part of the global market for UAVs” with this and other
designs.
The Orion’s future is likely to be decided by Russian President
Vladimir Putin, who attended a demonstration of the UAV behind closed doors.
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