In recent years, Russia has significantly boosted the production of multifunctional unmanned aerial vehicles, specifically the Orlan-10 and Orlan-30 models. The Special Technology Center (STC) reports notable growth, underscoring a strategic push to expand the country’s drone capabilities. This upward trend reflects a broader national effort to enhance air-based platforms used across military and civilian applications.
According to a statement attributed to the STC General Designer, the Orlan-10 marked a substantial jump in production, increasing several times over the level seen in 2021. The Orlan-30 also showed a remarkable surge, with production rising by a factor of about twenty-five compared with the previous period. These figures illustrate a deliberate scale-up in the serial manufacture of key UAV lines, aligning with anticipated demand from defense ministries and other customers.
Industry leaders note that the trajectory for the Orlan family includes ongoing updates and improvements. The STC emphasizes that the evolution of the UAV lineup will continue, with enhancements aimed at expanding performance, reliability, and battlefield utility while keeping production focused on serial, scalable output.
Officials also point to a shared vision between the Ministry of Defense and customers regarding the equipment needed. This consensus helps guide development priorities and ensures that new iterations of both fixed-wing and rotary-wing UAVs meet operational requirements in varied scenarios.
In parallel with the Orlan program, STC leadership indicated that the organization will pursue the development of both aircraft and helicopter-type UAVs. The immediate focus remains on expanding manufacturing capacity, modernizing existing serial products, and pursuing incremental improvements that will broaden the operational envelope of the country’s unmanned systems.
On a separate note, contemporaneous statements highlighted that foreign observers have taken an interest in unmanned platforms similar to Orlan and have explored methods of replication or adaptation. This context underscores the global attention on unmanned aviation technology and the competitive landscape in which these programs operate.
Additionally, industry updates revealed that the Kalashnikov concern has reported increases in the production of other UAV families, including Supercam and Tachyon models, reflecting a broader accelerative trend within the national unmanned systems sector. The overall picture points to intensified efforts in Russia to expand, upgrade, and diversify its autonomous aerial capabilities across multiple platforms. Meanwhile, earlier discussions referenced the development of a hybrid unmanned system that blends rotorcraft and fixed-wing characteristics, signaling ongoing exploration of versatile configurations for evolving mission needs.