Orlan-10

Russia's most prolific tactical drone — a catapult-launched, parachute-recovered ISR workhorse that has become the eyes of its artillery in Ukraine and a node in the Leer-3 electronic-warfare system.

Overview

The Orlan-10 is a fixed-wing, twin-boom tactical reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle fielded by the Russian Ground Forces and airborne units. It is the principal short-range airborne ISR asset of the Russian military, produced at a scale of over one thousand airframes per year and used intensively for real-time artillery spotting, battle-damage assessment and signals intelligence. The same airframe also functions as a key component of the Leer-3 electronic-warfare complex, where it carries a cellular-network jamming payload that denies tactical communications over a wide area.

Development

The Orlan-10 was developed by the Saint Petersburg-based Special Technology Center (STC) and entered service with the Russian armed forces around 2010. It was designed to replace aging reconnaissance drones with a low-cost, high-endurance platform capable of being operated from unprepared forward positions. Mass production ramped steadily through the 2010s, and by 2024 the manufacturer claimed an annual output exceeding 1,000 units, making the Orlan-10 the most numerous tactical UAV in Russian service according to missilestrikes.com. An export derivative, the Orlan-10E, has been offered to foreign customers, and Belarus is known to operate the type.

🔒 The rest of the Orlan-10 file is for BattlePolicy Pro members. Stop here and you miss the part that actually matters: how it performs and where it falls short, its combat record, how it stacks up head-to-head against its real counterparts, the complete specifications table, and our analysts’ procurement, supplier and assessment notes. Unlock the full file with BattlePolicy Pro →