Russia begins developing drone to replace Orlans: What is known about new UAV
Illustrative photo: Russia has begun developing a drone to replace the Orlans (t.me/milinua)
The Russian Federation has begun developing a new generation of Orlan drones. This is being handled by the Special Technology Center, states the chief designer of the Special Technology Center (STC), Roman Ivanov.
According to him, the STC is already working on new generations of Orlan drones. However, the process has slowed down because production is busy with "current tasks."
The new drones will be similar to the previous ones, featuring the same "wing" type aircraft, but designed to meet the new requirements of the Russian Ministry of Defense. The agency has provided the manufacturer with the relevant technical specifications.
"The new complexes are intended to replace the existing Orlan-10 and Orlan-30, but changing horses midstream is quite a challenging task, and the customer understands this as well," Ivanov stated.
He also mentioned that the company faces tasks related to the modernization of existing equipment to increase its efficiency.
What is known about the Orlan drones
Orlan-10 and Orlan-30 are unmanned aerial vehicles widely used by Russian forces for various tasks, including reconnaissance and artillery fire adjustment.
Orlan-10:
- Primary Purpose: Tactical reconnaissance drone.
- Range: Up to 600 km.
- Flight Duration: Up to 16 hours.
- Weight: Approximately 14 kg.
- Functions: Equipped with cameras for aerial photography, thermal imaging, and capable of transmitting video in real time. It is used for adjusting artillery fire as well as for creating interference in the enemy's radio frequency channels.
Orlan-30:
- Primary Purpose: Upgraded version of the Orlan-10 with capabilities for adjusting artillery and missile strikes.
- Differences from Orlan-10: Improved camera, greater range, and enhanced targeting accuracy. This drone is better suited for reconnaissance at greater distances and is used to support fire operations.
- Additional Functions: Can work with precision-guided munitions, increasing the effectiveness of artillery attacks.
Both drones are widely used by Russia in the combat zone in Ukraine, particularly for monitoring the actions of Ukrainian forces and adjusting artillery strikes.
Russia begins using new types of drones
According to Reuters, in recent times, Russian forces have carried out at least five attacks on Ukraine using two new types of unmanned aerial vehicles. These new drones are made from foam and plywood. One of them is equipped with a camera and a SIM card from a Ukrainian mobile operator to transmit images to Russian military personnel.
Later, the media provided more details about the drone known as Gerbera, which the Russians refer to as the "younger sister" of the Shahed.
