ADEX 2024 – Rosoboronexport showcases the Orlan-30 UAV for the first time in the Caspian region
At the ADEX-2024 exhibition in Baku, Rosoboronexport (part of the Rostec State Corporation) presents for the first time in the Caspian region the best known Russian reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Orlan-30, which is actively used in the Ukrainian theater of military operations and provides reconnaissance and targeting of high-precision weapons with a laser guidance system.
Despite the fact that the Orlan UAV is currently widely used in the special military operation (SVO – spetsialnaya voennaya operatsia in Russian), Rosoboronexport maintains the capacity to produce this system for export. To a large extent, this is due to the fact that, as the chief designer of the Orlan, Roman Ivanov, recently told TASS news agency, if “the production of the Orlan-10 has increased three to four times, then the production of the Orlan-30 has increased up to 25 times compared to 2021.”
In Baku EDR On-Line was told that, in autonomous mode, the range of the Orlan-30 is 300 km, while its controlled range is 120 km, the range of its data-link. The Orlan-30 UAV is a multimission system and is capable to carry out long-term air patrols of areas of interest, assessment of the results of camouflage measures, optronic monitoring of areas of interest in day and night, online monitoring of enemy terrain and objects, guidance of high-precision artillery and aviation munitions, laser illumination of targets day and night, and electronic countermeasures. The 3.9 metres wingspan Orlan-30 UAV has a takeoff mass of 30 kg, carries a maximum payload of 5 kg, can fly at a maximum altitude above sea level of 3,500 metres, while its flight speed varies from 90 to 150 km/h, maximum endurance being 8 hours. The air vehicle is powered by an internal combustion engine with a two-blade pulling propeller. It takes off from a catapult and lands by parachute.
In the rear part of the UAV fuselage, a spherical gyrostabilized optoelectronic station (GOES) with laser target illumination is installed. The GOES includes a visible spectrum overview camera, a thermal imager, a sighting video camera, and a laser target designator-rangefinder.
The visible spectrum overview video camera is fitted with an optical zoom providing a field of view from 1° to 60° and has a resolution of 703 x 576 pixels. The thermal imager is equipped with a fixed lens, has a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels and a field of view of 8°. The sighting video camera has a 4° field of view and a resolution of 703 x 576 pixels. The laser designator-rangefinder operates at a wavelength of 1064 nm, has a pulse energy of 20 mJ, a beam divergence of 500 μrad, a range of measured distances of 200-8,000 metres, and a range determination accuracy of 5 metres.
The Orlan-30 UAV is controlled by a ground remote control station (GRCS) with a universal antenna system. The GRCS, which has 3 automated operator workstations, ensures the control of data transmission channels, route planning and adjustment, online control of UAVs and payloads, data recording, simultaneous control of up to four UAVs. Several GRCS can be merged into a local area network, allowing remote access to the results of the payload operation. The entire complex is delivered in seven shipping containers.
Photo by N. Novichkov
