Please continue the topic of drones, more specifically about Russian-Turkish drones through the article with the above title and subtitles of Russian military expert Vladimir Tuchkov. The post in Svobodnaai Pressa” and several other Russian newspapers on April 2, 2021 was recently published.

Russian “Orion” drone (Photo: Nickel nitride / wikimedia.org)

At the “Morskoy” shooting range on the Crimean peninsula there was a sensational event that prompted the Turkish website Haber7 to react immediately.

That event was: the Russian medium unlit aerial vehicle (UAV) “Orion” hit the Czechoslovakian-made Aero L-39 Albatros fighter in the 70s but was decommissioned (as a target).

If the ationed Albatross was shot down while in flight, the news must have been the hottest news and published on the front page of all the newspapers. Because the Russian reconnaissance-attack UAV “Orion” is only capable of conducting attacks on ground targets.

And in Crimea, the ationed Russian UAV destroyed a plane parked on the ground. In the weapons base of the Russian “Orion” UAV there are no “air-to-air” class (missiles).

The sensationalism of the above information, from the Turkish point of view, lies in the fact that the new type of ammunition (bombs) that the Russian UAV “Orion” used to destroy Albatross was a copy of the MAM-L flying bomb designed and built by the Turkish company ROKETSAN.

This MAM-L bomb weighed 22 kg, the warhead had a mass of 10 kg. It can fly up to 8 km, depending on the speed of the vehicle and the altitude at which the bomb was cut.

Turkish reporters said they were well aware of this on a television clip filmed for the Russian-24 TV channel.

They further believed their hypothesis because the Russians had not provided any details about the type of ammunition Russia used in the ationed Crimea tests. Only one information is provided that this ammunition has a fragmented warhead.

However, it is completely incompatable why the above bomb could not be a Russian-made KAB-20 controlled aviation bomb with features similar to the “Turkish bomb”?

This KAB-20 bomb was designed and built at the “Tactical Missile Weapons Corporation” (KRET) and has been in the weapon base of “Orion” since 2018. Russian bombs also have navigation systems such as the “Turks” – satellite navigation, turning on the laser self-guided head when approaching the target.

Not long ago, in January 2021, “Orion” carried out precision airstrikes against the battlefield of the turkish fighters in Syria with these and other ammunition in its ammunition base.

The airstrikes were carried out at night against fuel tanker trucks smuggled from the Syrian Tarhin region to Turkey.

These bombs hit the target with extreme precision, causing no casualties to civilians. As a result, the looting of oil and petroleum products in Syria has been put to an end.

And now, the Russian “Orions” after going “on a Syrian business trip” to begin the training process at the shooting range on the Crimean peninsula.

The Turkish newspaper’s headline-grabbing take on the Russian “copy” of the Turkish air bomb” – it’s understandable.

It’s certainly part of a raucous promotion of Turkey’s “Bayraktar” drone to blow it up into a flying elephant.

And to assert that someone has been stealing something from Turkey, is copying something Turkish to make its UAVs get the same technical and tactical features as the similar features of the Turkish UAV.

Admittedly, it’s normal to “pump patches” if not trivial.

Turkish “Bayraktar” drone

And here, we will take specific examples to prove that in terms of weapons, “Bayraktar” Turkey needs to steal books according to the Russian “Orion”, not at all.

The weapon base of “Orion” is as follows:

• KAB-20 – an aviation bomb with an adjustable (controlled) fragmented, satellite-guided or laser warhead. Weight – 21 kg, combat head weight – 9 kg;

• UPAB-50 – a controlled flying bomb carrying the combat head of the “Grad” series rocket launcher complex (MLRS). Weight – 50 kg, warhead weight – 37 kg;

• KAB-50 – adjustable aviation bomb carrying MLRS “Grad” warhead. Conduction : satellite / laser / TELEVISION / thermal image. Weight – 46 kg, warhead weight – 37 kg;

• FAB-50 – free-falling aviation bomb. Weight – 50 kg, warhead weight – no figures:

• Kh-50 – guided missile with a high penetrating detonation-detonation head. Conduction: iner8 / satellite / different self-conduction heads. Weight – 50 kg, combat head weight – 10-20 kg (depending on the self-guided head).

The 20 kg ammunition is designed to destroy energy and destroy light armored technical vehicles, while the 50 kg ammunition, in addition to those capabilities, is capable of destroying other armored vehicles, including tanks.

And if the Turks want to find some connection in the design between the Russian drone and another foreign drone, then they should not search on Turkish soil, but should look in the US.

Because in terms of design ideas, the Russian “Orion” has many similarities with its American “partner” MQ-1 “Predator”.

Of course, the Russian UAV is not a copy of the American UAV; it has many unique original features. But the bodies of the two Russian-American UAVs are very similar, yes, and the technical and tactical features also have many common features.

U.S. MQ-1 “Predator” drone

“Orion” belongs to the class of medium-range reconnaissance-attack drones, has a long air flight time, up to 24 hours. Its takeoff weight is exactly one ton. Maximum flight altitude – 7,500 m, maximum distance from ground control station is 250 km, if using uav transmission – up to 300 km.

The design of “Orion” within the framework of the Research and Design Program named “Inokhodets” has been implemented by a St.Petersburg company named “Kronshtadt” since 2011.

Since relations with the United States at the time had not broken down, the first models were powered by a 115-horsepower Rotax 914 piston engine, the Rotax 914, which was also the engine for the UAV “Predator” USA.

However, only a short time later, Russia was forced to implement a policy of replacing imports (because of sanctions). The company “Agat” and the Russian Central Aircraft Engine Building Institute built an engine similar to the American Rotax 914 engine – the APD-110/120 engine with a capacity of 120 horse power.

In the UAV tail section there is a 1.9 m diameter two-blade propeller, the UAV takes off and lands in an aircraft style. The landing unit in the UAV nose is recessable. There is also a recesable tail crutch at the rear that protects the propeller when the UAV lands.

For navigation and target detection, there are both optical positioning systems working on both visible and infrared spectross, and also radars. In addition, these complexes can be used to perform reconnaissance missions. The composition of the equipment may vary, depending on the specific task of the UAV.

Last summer, the Russian Defense Ministry received and put “Orion” into service, and signed an additional contract with “Kronstadt” to purchase these UAVs. To be precise, the number of UAVs to buy and the contract value are not disclosed.

Of course, “Orion”- it’s definitely a good and effective UAV. Same “same weight class” as Turkish “Bayraktar”. “Bayraktar” is even “thinner” than “Orion”.

Therefore, at the present time, when the Turks begin to “pump blows” for their UAV, there must surely be some mention of “Orion”, such as making claims that these are the two best drones in the world.

But the truth of life lies in the fact that these two UAVs are about 15 years slower than American designs. In the United States, the UAV “Predator” was removed and was replaced by the newly mined MQ-9 “Reaper” less than 13 years ago.

This American UAV has a useful load exceeding one and a half tons, a ceiling of up to 15 km, a maximum speed – up to 400 km / h. And not only that, but soon this American drone will be equipped with “air-to-air” class missiles.

And in general, in Russia, too, Russia is about to be equipped with reconnaissance-heavy attack drones “Okhotnhik” (“Hunters”), and this Russian “Hunter” has very significant advantages over the American “Reaper”.

In this class of UAV (reconnaissance- heavy attacks), the Turks have absolutely nothing to say.

Le Hung – Nguyen Hoang (translated)