russian occupation army wants to use two types of drones to patrol the Northeast Passage and the coast of Kamchatka. This was reported by russian propaganda media, citing sources in the Ministry of Defense.
We are talking about such unmanned aerial vehicles as Inokhodets (Orion) and Forpost drones. According to russians, they want to build base locations for them in the north with all the necessary infrastructure. The main mission of the drones will be control and monitoring of the airspace, as well as search for intruders, participation in search and rescue operations.
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According to former Pacific Fleet Commander Sergei Avakyants, russians want "to have all the information about the presence of foreign vessels and warships in our economic zone in the Arctic, and especially those that pass through the Northeast Passage without our permission and warning."
According to his opinion, russia should create a new heavy drone to operate in the north taking into account the peculiarities of the area. It should have a stable connection, a range of different equipment, and strike capabilities. The use of drones in reconnaissance missions in the region is also explained by lower costs compared to manned aircraft.
Inokhodets, also known as Orion, is a MALE (Medium Altitude, Long Endurance) drone, a medium-altitude UAV with a long flight duration from russian Kronstadt company. It was reported that all the technical documentation of russian Special Technological Center, including the Inokhodets UAV was leaked earlier this year. The UAV has a maximum takeoff weight of 1000 kg and a flight duration of 24 hours.
At the same time, the Forpost UAV is a copy of the Israeli Searcher Mk II drone. The modernized Forpost-R drone is said to have a flight duration of up to 18 hours, and the Ministry of Defense of russian federation previously announced the production of this UAV from its own components using own software.
Earlier Defense Express reported that drone coalition members had boosted Ukrainian drone power
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