"Work on delivering Orion-E to a country of the Middle East and North Africa region has really been underway. However, it is currently too early to discuss contract signing. Apart from that, we are studying the possibility of showing the Orion-E system to the UAE, which has requested holding demonstration tests on its territory", the service said.
The head of the defence cooperation agency, Dmitry Shugayev, has previously stated that "a Middle Eastern nation" seeks to purchase the Orion-E long-endurance drone.
According to military experts, the Orion-E reconnaissance drone may be equipped with weapons, thus turning into a reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial vehicle.
Russia's Kronstadt Group Launches Batch Production of Orion Reconnaissance Combat Drone
"What we are currently preparing to deliver is rather a pilot batch, but this is already the first batch contract. We are now working on launching large-scale batch production, which could enable us to produce up to seven systems or around 30 drones annually", Kronstadt Group Director General Sergei Bogatikov said.
He specified that each system included three to six drones, depending on the tasks it had to fulfil.
Orion's weight amounts to 1,100 kilograms (2,425 pounds), with its useful load reaching 250 kilograms. The maximum flight duration is estimated at at least 24 hours, with the maximum height of the flight set at around 8,000 metres (4.97 miles).
The MAKS-2019 International Aviation and Space Salon is held from 27 August to 1 September in Moscow region's Zhukovsky. This biennial event is among the world's largest of its kind. Russian and foreign aviation experts, manufacturers and businessmen gather to attend exhibitions, roundtables and conferences featuring the latest achievements and novelties in the aviation sphere.
