The Orion family of Russian unmanned aerial vehicles was developed by the Kronstadt Group. Its first flight occurred in 2016 after its development process between 2011 and 2015. The drone was meant to be used in reconnaissance and strike missions, with an endurance of 24 hours and a maximum payload of 250 kg for medium-altitude flights. The strike variant operates small guided bombs or Vikhr-1V laser-guided antitank missiles and has been seen in Syria in 2019 as part of its first deployment in combat. The exact number of Orions in service is unknown, but the total number of units built is estimated at around 48 drones.
Introduced in Update "Drone Age", the Orion is not a researchable vehicle, but is available for players using Russia in high-tier ground battles, costing 750 spawn points to spawn. The Orion is a good option for players in Ground RB who have not researched any suitable close air support aircraft or attack helicopters for use in high-tier lineups. It can be fitted with two 9M133M-2 or two 9M133FM3 Konkurs-M missiles. Both missiles are supersonic, have good manoeuvrability and can be used to destroy most MBTs. The 9M133M-2 has a tandem warhead, which means that it has high penetration but not so much post-penetration damage and requires aiming at parts of the tank with a higher ammo concentration or more crew members, like the turret. The 9M133FM3 uses a high-explosive warhead, and even though it may not be enough to destroy all tanks, with overpressure it will kill most MBTs with a well-placed shot in the roof of the vehicle, not to mention that most light targets, like IFVs and SPAAs, are extremely vulnerable to these kinds of warheads.
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Name | Weight | Slot | ||||||
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34 kg | ||||||||
36 kg | ||||||||
50 kg | ||||||||
50 kg |