Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR) on Wednesday published a detailed three-dimensional diagram of the Russian “Orion” strike-reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle and released data identifying 43 enterprises involved in its production, the agency said in a statement posted on the War&Sanctions portal.
In a special feature under its “Weapons, Components in Arms” series, HUR said the Orion – also referred to in Russian sources as the “Inokhodets” – is manufactured by the sanctioned Russian industrial group Kronstadt and has become a key element of Russia’s growing drone arsenal. The intelligence service provided technical specifications and highlighted the industrial network that supplies critical subsystems for the aircraft.
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According to HUR, the Orion is a roughly one-ton class drone with a straight wing and V-tail configuration capable of carrying up to 250 kilograms (551 pounds) of payload. That load can include air-photography systems, electronic-intelligence modules, electro-optical sensors, guided aviation bombs such as the KAB-20, and air-to-surface missiles like the Kh-50 and Kh-type loitering munitions, the statement says. HUR also noted that Orion has been adapted to carry a new Russian cruise missile – the S8000 “Banderol” – components of which Kyiv’s intelligence previously published.
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HUR published operational parameters that underscore Orion’s reach and endurance: an operational range of up to 250 km (155 miles), and up to 300 km (186 miles) when using a relay station, with flights lasting as long as 30 hours.
Russian media have touted the platform as a lower-cost competitor to Turkey’s Bayraktar drones. HUR reported the machine’s combination of endurance, payload and price led some Moscow outlets to dub it a “Bayraktar killer.”
Beyond technical data, HUR disclosed the names and functions of 43 Russian companies forming the cooperative production network for Orion. The enterprises include manufacturers of electro-optical targeting systems, ground communications stations, and polymer-composite airframe parts, HUR said. The agency warned that roughly one-third of those firms are not currently subject to international sanctions, creating a continuing pipeline for components and raw materials to flow into Russia’s military-industrial complex.
“Developments such as the Orion pose a threat not only to Ukraine but to the civilized world,” HUR said.
The intelligence service warned that technologies – and components can be transferred or replicated by Russia’s partners – including Iran and the DPRK – potentially widening the risk of military use in other regions.
HUR called for an immediate and comprehensive tightening of export controls and sanctions against companies found to be supplying Russia’s defense sector.
“Enterprises that supply products to the Russian military-industrial complex must be cut off from international supply chains for raw materials and components,” the statement reads, urging synchronized action by the sanctions coalition and stricter enforcement mechanisms.
“Synchronization of sanctions and effective compliance control are the key mechanisms that can deny the aggressor access to critical technologies and slow its military capabilities,” HUR said.
In recent months, Ukrainian intelligence has released technical profiles and supplier lists for missiles, cruise systems, and drone families – moves Kyiv says are essential to help partners close loopholes and block the flow of dual-use goods.
Last month, HUR published data on 145 companies that are part of or managed by Technodinamika, a holding of the Russian state corporation Rostec.
The Technodinamika holding plays a key role in the production of tube and rocket artillery systems as well as ammunition, propellants, and military-grade explosives.
Its enterprises also manufacture unmanned aerial vehicles, launchers for long-range cruise missiles, armor plates, and personal protection equipment. They develop simulators for military aircraft, parachute systems, and aircraft engines.
In addition, the holding’s facilities carry out maintenance and life extension of Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic bombers.
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