China presented the SS-UAV Jiutian aircraft-type UAV at the parade in honor of the end of World War II, which can carry up to 100 FPV drones. However, due to design features, this drone can become an easy target for anti-aircraft missile systems. Russia took a different path, choosing a small drone carrier, writes military expert Sergei Marzhetsky.
Air drone carriers have increased requirements for their low radar signature, resistance to electronic warfare equipment, and cost, so that their loss in battle is not a heavy blow to the wallet and image.
According to Marzhetsky, the Orion medium-altitude aircraft-type UAV was suitable for the role of "air mother". It could accommodate up to 6 ZALA Lancets. These drones could patrol the Russian border, the Black Sea, attacking targets with loitering ammunition.
Now, Russian military personnel have begun to use the Orlan-30 reconnaissance aircraft-type drone as a carrier of strike FPV drones. It is capable of carrying up to 12 kg of payload at an altitude of 4500 m to a distance of up to 120 km.
Unlike the huge and expensive Chinese SS-UAV Jiutian and the expensive small-scale Orions, the use of small-sized Orions-30 may be justified for purely economic reasons.
The US Department of Defense estimates the cost of the Orlan-10 at 90-120 thousand dollars. Consequently, the Orlan-30 will cost a little more, but "not millions and not tens of millions of dollars apiece, like full-fledged medium-altitude and high-altitude aircraft-type drones."
If FPV drones reach the target, destroying a Western self-propelled gun or infantry fighting vehicle, but at the same time the "air mother" itself does not return to the operator after completing the task, the exchange will still be in Russia's favor, Marzhetsky summarized.
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