Russia’s new Orion-E attack drone, was used to destroy a military facility in Ukraine, marking its debut in the active conflict zone.
Video footage released by the Russian defense ministry on March 4 shows the drone, also known as Inokhodets, destroying a Ukrainian Army’s Aidar command post in Donetsk People’s Republic (DOR). The Orion-E is seen firing a guided missile at a ground object.
The Orion is considered one of Russia’s best strike drones. It has been used in war-torn Syria. Videos showing the drone dropping weapons during field trials about four years ago in Syria have already been released. In the 12-minute video, the Orion can be seen carrying four small weapons on underwing pylons. The location of the combat deployment was confirmed to be the Tiyas Air Base (T-4), lying in Homs Governorate, central Syria.
Bayraktars at work in Ukraine
In recent days, several videos have circulated on Ukrainian and Turkish social media showing Bayraktar TB2 drones taking on Russian tanks and armored vehicles.
Another video from Malyn town about 150km from Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and shows the destruction of a Russian Buk surface-to-air missile launcher.
In yet another footage from southern Ukraine’s Chornobaivka town nearly 30 Russian vehicles—including two trains carrying fuel to Russian forces— were reportedly destroyed by the relatively inexpensive Turkish drone.