Russia to Test Drone Over UAE Territory

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

The United Arab Emirates has recently asked Russia to conduct tests of the Russian made, Orion-E drone over UAE territory.

While work on delivering the drone to the Middle Eastern country has already been underway, Russian officials mention that it is still too early to discuss any contracts or agreements. Currently, Russia and the UAE are studying the possibility of operating the Orion-E system in the UAE. For this effort, a pilot batch of drones are now in preparation to being delivered.

The Orion-E drone is often deployed as a reconnaissance drone. However, the drone can be equipped with weapons, therefore also making it an attack drone.

Each Orion-E system comes with three to six drones, as reported by Sputniknews.com. The amount of drones per system depends on the task each system will be assigned to.

The drone is capable of flying for at least 24 hours. The Orion-E is capable of reaching heights of up to 8,000 meters, while being able to carry payloads up to 250 kilograms in weight. The drone itself weighs about 1,100 kilograms.