Ukrainian Paratroopers Down Russian Orion UAV Over Kursk Oblast

Ukrainian paratroopers managed to shoot down a Russian Orion drone in the Kursk oblast.

Drone was shot down by a unit of the 80th Separate Galician Air Assault Brigade, according to Ukrainian Air Assault Forces.

Galician paratroopers shoot down a Russian Orion reconnaissance and strike a UAV in the sky over Kursk oblast.

Russia’s newest reconnaissance and strike UAV, Orion, was landed by a crew of the Strela-10 anti-aircraft missile system.

“An unmanned aerial vehicle of this type is dangerous because it can not only conduct aerial reconnaissance, but also, armed with four air-to-ground missiles, is capable of striking ground targets,” the paratroopers said.

The maximum takeoff weight of the Orion is about 1 ton, the maximum flight duration is 30 hours, and the altitude is about 8,000 meters.

The unmanned vehicle can carry a payload of up to 200 kilograms.

The declared arsenal of the drone includes Kh-50 guided small-gun aircraft missiles, KAB-20 guided bombs and anti-tank missile systems.

According to the published footage, the downed Orion was armed with Kh-BPLA missiles (TKB-1030).

The warhead of the Kh-BPLA is an aviation version of the Kornet anti-tank missile system, which allows the drone to hit even heavy armored vehicles.

Russia also claimed that such “Russian drones have fighter capabilities and can destroy enemy drones.”

As a reminder, back in 2022, Ukrainian air defense managed to shoot down this Russian Orion UAV.