Russian hi-tech firm CEO Armen Isaakyan announces of long endurance strike drone

The Orion-E is capable of automatic takeoff and landing, and fly continuously for 24 hours

Kronstadt Technologies unveiled the first Russian medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial system during the MAKS 2017 airshow. Dubbed the Orion-E, the surveillance UAV has been undergoing flight-testing in Russia since last year.

According to Aviation Analysis, the UAS has an external design similar to the Thales WatchKeeper UAS, which is based on the Elbit Systems Hermes 450. With a wingspan of 16 m (52.5ft), the Orion-E is capable of automatic takeoff and landing, and fly continuously for 24 hours, carrying a surveillance payloads of up to 200 kg. It can reach a maximum altitude of 7,500 meters.

The Russians are planning to take Artificial Inteligence (AI) to next level using robots. The CEO of Kronstadt Group, Armen Isaakyan said that he wants to bring on AI to develop “Swarm of drones”, which can coordinate with each other and fire at destined targets to accomplish the mission without human intervention.

‘We are working on the complex’s modernization in an outpacing manner. We can’t disclose details but we plan to add these functions to the next version of the drone’s export configuration,” the Kronshtadt chief executive Armen Isaakyan said, replying to a question about the Orion’s strike variant.

 

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