MOSCOW, July 9. /TASS/. The Orion advanced reconnaissance and surveillance drones received the navigation system of the Mi-28NM helicopter that is capable of operating autonomously, the press office of Radio-Electronic Technologies Group (KRET) reported on Thursday.

The strapdown inertial navigation system produced by specialists of the Ramensky Instrument-Making Factory (part of KRET) is designated to determine an object’s location, comprehensively process and issue navigation and flight information. The system was previously successfully employed on Mi-26 and Mi-28NM helicopters and was adapted for a drone, the press office specified.

"The systems were successfully tested on prototypes of drones and showed a high level of their functionality and reliability. The navigation systems based on units with ring laser gyroscopes are unique precision instruments capable of autonomously determining the coordinates and parameters of an object’s movement even in the absence of ground, sea or space signals," the press office quoted KRET First Deputy CEO Vladimir Zverev as saying.

The Orion is a medium-altitude, long-duration unmanned aerial system with a maximum take-off weight of 1 tonne and a maximum payload weight of 200 kg. The drone has a service ceiling of 7.5 km and its flight endurance is 24 hours with the standard payload. It can develop a speed of up to 200 km/h.

In April 2020, the Kronshtadt Group and Russia’s Defense Ministry signed a certificate of the acceptance of the first Orion long-duration unmanned aerial system of three drones.