Russian Orion drone
Following the frenzied attack of the Turkish “Second Lieutenant” TB-2 armed drone in the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Russia has also urgently launched its own armed drone “Orion”: this is following Russia’s domestic proposal to purchase Chinese “Pterosaur” armed forces. After five years of drones, Russia finally launched its own armed combat drone. Russia is convinced that Orion will become an attack drone.
Tested crashed Orion drone
In the opinion of many Russian experts, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has shown the advantages of using the famous Turkish drone “Second Lieutenant” TB-2 as a drone attack aircraft. In this context, more and more people are dissatisfied with the lack of similar drones in Russia. Among the UAVs in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, there is only the “Orion”. This UAV was developed in 2011 and entered the military for trial operation in April 2020. By the end of this year, the Russian Air Force can receive the first three aircraft, which allows the “Orion” armed drones to start mass production. “Orion” UAV should become the main force of the Russian aerospace force.
However, one question everyone is asking is whether this Russian drone will have the ability to strike the ground? Russia believes that the “Orion” armed drone will be Russia’s main air strike platform for ground attacks. Orion can also be equipped with guided missiles, bombs, rockets and other weapons, and “Orion” armed drones can carry ammunition weighing up to 50 kilograms.
Orion drone assembly
Orion drone assembly When the Russian “Orion” armed drone enters mass production, it plans to produce up to 7 “Orion” armed drones every year. The “Orion Armed” UAV includes a command post and three to six “Orion” UAVs. It can be noticed that although the “Orion” is an armed drone like the Turkish “Second Lieutenant” TB2, the size and many performance characteristics of the Russian “Orion” drone greatly exceed the Turkish “partner”.
However, due to the scarcity of the number, the Russian Air Force’s use of the Orion UAV focuses on the use of reconnaissance capabilities. Therefore, the Russian Air Force has not yet publicly discussed its strike potential.
Armenian drone
Armenian drone Regarding Russia’s threat to Azerbaijan with its “Orion” drone, the Azerbaijani side said that the Azerbaijani air defense forces welcome Russian armed drones to participate in the war at any time! Because the Azerbaijani armed forces are actively using the “Groza-S” electronic warfare joint system made in Belarus, with the purpose of striking Russian and Armenian drones.
As pointed out by the Azerbaijani media, electronic countermeasure equipment made in Belarus has been very successful in handling drones launched from Armenian territory.
The Belarusian electronic warfare integrated system “Groza-S” has high mobility and target detection quality, and has been serving the Azerbaijani armed forces since 2018. The “Groza-S” electronic countermeasure equipment equipped by the Azerbaijani air defense forces managed to quickly find and destroy Armenian drones. Turkey has also deployed Belarusian electronic countermeasures equipment in Libya, which has performed very well in actual combat. Azerbaijan believes that it is now waiting for Russia to cast its own net!
