Algeria has become a foreign buyer of the latest Russian reconnaissance drones, the Orion. This information was confirmed by the Ministry of Defence of the African republic.
Orions were used in the Algerian army's "Hurricane" exercises. Although rumors of the acquisition had been circulating for several years, the broadcast on April 8, 2026, became the first official public confirmation that the Algerian army had integrated UAVs into its combat formations.
However, the Algerian version of the Orion differs from the Russian one: there are no hardpoints for weapons, and the optoelectronic station has been moved to the front of the drone.
Recall that the Orion's range is up to 1440 km in autonomous mode or when using satellite communication. The control radius with a repeater is up to 300 km. In the strike version, the drone can carry up to 250 kg of payload.
Read more on the topic:
- Drone manufacturer "Orion" suffered a loss of 4.6 billion rubles
- Russia doubled drone range without design changes: "Kuznechik" communication module integrated with "Podkhvat" mode