Difference between revisions of "Orion"

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At its introduction, the Orion UCAV is the only drone with multiple types of loadouts to choose from when spawning.
 
At its introduction, the Orion UCAV is the only drone with multiple types of loadouts to choose from when spawning.
 
Like all other strike drones, the Orion becomes available in any GRB match BR 9.7 or higher - meaning an 8.7 lineup, in a full uptier, can encounter the Orion and other strike drones.
 
  
 
== General info ==
 
== General info ==

Revision as of 13:49, 17 June 2023

Rank VII | Premium | Golden Eagles
Challenger DS Pack
Orion
ucav_orion.png
GarageImage Orion.jpg
Orion
Show in game

Description

The Orion is a Russian strike UCAV. It was introduced in Update "Drone Age".

At its introduction, the Orion UCAV is the only drone with multiple types of loadouts to choose from when spawning.

General info

Flight performance

Max speed
at 1 000 m220 km/h
Turn time22 s
Max altitude7 500 m
EngineSNECMA Atar 9C
Type
Cooling systemAir
Take-off weight1 t

The Orion has a low top speed. As a propeller-driven UCAV, its climb rate and manoeuvrability are also sub-par. Despite this, it still can carry a devastating loadout of 9M113M-2 or 9M113FM3 missiles.

Max speed
(km/h at 1,000 m)
Max altitude
(metres)
Turn time
(seconds)
Rate of climb
(metres/second)
Take-off run
(metres)
AB RB AB RB AB RB
220 220 7500 22.0 22.0 2.5 2.5 250

Details

Features
Combat flaps Take-off flaps Landing flaps Air brakes Arrestor gear
X X X X X
Limits
Wings (km/h) Gear (km/h) Flaps (km/h) Max Static G
Combat Take-off Landing + -
390 450 N/A N/A N/A ~__ ~__
Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons Rudder Elevators Radiator
< 250 < 250 < 250 >250

Survivability and armour

Crew0 people
Speed of destruction
Structural0 km/h
Gear450 km/h

Being a strike drone, the Orion has no amour plating whatsoever. The only saving grace of the Orion is that it is still a relatively small target and hard to spot. Remember that being out of sight means a higher chance of survival.

Armaments

Suspended armament

Main articles: 9M133FM3, 9M133M-2

The Orion can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

  • 2 x 9M133M-2 missiles
  • 2 x 9M133FM3 missiles

The 9M133M-2 Kornet-М is a supersonic tandem charged missile, good for destroying MBTs that players at this battle rating use. It has a good flight speed and decent maneuverability, so you can always hit those sneaky light tanks and SPAAs running around the battlefield.

The 9M113FM3 Kornet-М is a supersonic missile with a High Explosive warhead. It penetrates as much as 61 mm of armour. The blast is enough to 1-hit most MBTs. You can give most ADATS and PUMA users an extremely bad day.

Usage in battles

The Orion fills a good niche as the "everyman's CAS". It is available to everyone, which can be very beneficial to players who have not researched BR appropriate aircraft or helicopters. You start off by spawning at an altitude of 4000 meters above the battlefield. Your main priority is SPAA. They are usually found stationary at the enemy spawn. Destroying them will not only help your survival, but also enable your fellow helicopter/aircraft pilots to move in and provide better, uninterrupted CAS. If there are no SPAA around, your next target would be enemy tanks that are near/on the capture points. Once you fire both 9M133M-2 or 9M133FM3 missiles, you have three options:

  1. Loiter over the battlefield and provide reconnaissance: Just because you can no longer use your missiles doesn't mean you can't help your team! Fly around the battlefield and scan the area with your amazing optical camera. Once you spot any enemy vehicles that pose a threat to your team, quickly mark them on the map and tell your teammates using the in-game chat (alternatively if you have any squad mates, you can work with them and point out enemies nearby using the squad marker)
  2. Land and rearm: Once the two ATGM's are used, reduce your throttle and glide towards the airbase. Once you land, begin any repairs and necessary rearming so you can take off. It should be worth noting that the Orion UCAV suffers from a low speed and a horrid climb rate, making the return to base and return to the battlefield incredibly lengthy. Altitude is also the only saving grace of the Orion, as helicopters/attack aircraft will generally be at lower altitudes and SPAA's will have no trouble sending a very slow target back to the hangar screen. Consequently, fighting at low altitudes should be regarded as a suicide mission.
  3. Bail out of the vehicle and spawn in a more capable vehicle: While it feels counterintuitive to bail out of a vehicle that cost 750 spawn points, it is the fastest and best way to get you back into the battle. Using the spawn points you gained from the carnage your two Kornet missiles caused, you can get enough to spawn another tank, an attack aircraft, or a helicopter. The advantage of this is that you should have cleared the path for you or other pilots to make some damage, as the SPAA's and anti-air threats are no longer there.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Spawns at altitude (4000 meters)
  • Access to two devastating 9M133M-2 or 9M133FM3 missiles
  • Exceptional optical camera with 2nd Gen thermals
  • Hard to counter by SPAA
  • Available for everyone to use

Cons:

  • Low maximum speed
  • Terrible climb rate
  • Access to only two ATGMs for a price higher than most helicopters and attack aircraft (which can carry more ATGMs)
  • A large amount of time will be spent going from spawn to the airfield to rearm and back - better off bailing out and spawning another tank, aircraft, or helicopter
  • Small launch window

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

External links


Kronstadt Group
Drones  Orion

Strike UCAVs
USA  MQ-1
USSR  Orion
China  Wing Loong I