Russian military Orlan 10 UAV minor teardown - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: daqq
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 10, 2022, 08:52:14 pm
content: Hard to say these days how real this is, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was accurate.

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 10, 2022, 09:12:17 pm
content: This looks real. Those UAVs are very old design and have been shown on various trade shows, so there are a lot of close up pictures. They are not very secret, just a low cost junky drone that can be deployed in large quantities.The camera payload is not a part of the standard design, it varies based on the mission, that's why it looks ad hoc.

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 10, 2022, 09:43:57 pm
content: Does it do the job? It does. And such mods - either the off-the-shelf camera velcroed in or the fuel tank out of a PET bottle are cheap and easy to do even in field conditions.It is a cheap and effectively disposable drone, with such expedient hacks allowing the operators to extend the useful life/capabilities of that thing - which is all that matters in battle conditions. Moreover, if the drone gets shot down or captured, there is little risk of exposing any sort of sensitive technology to the enemy.I don't remember which US commander said this around the time of the Gulf war but it illustrates the problem with the Western approach to military technology - "A paper map remains a map even if there is a bullet hole in it. A laptop with a bullet hole is not a laptop anymore."Russian military tech has always been rugged, often crude, but cheap to produce and simple to use and repair. And it is not always because the Russians don't have the means to produce something better (even though that's no doubt also a factor) but because the conditions where it is going to be used often favor such solutions.A classic example of this is the AK-47. Its main Western competitor M-16 is more accurate, can handle more accessories, has much more advanced sights available, it is lighter - yet none of this matters if the rifle jams when you need it most. AK-47s were shown being dunked in a swamp mud and still reliably fire afterwards. And cleaning it means breaking it down to 6(ish) large pieces - that's all. Even a monkey can do it. Field stripping an M16 means at least 15 pieces and several are small and easy to lose, especially in field conditions.Or the abilities of many Russian military jets to operate from unpaved airfields - good luck attempting that with any modern Western jet. Of course, the West has plenty more paved airfields - Russians rather made their jets stronger because they knew that even their paved airfields are often in poor shape and the planes will get banged around a lot.

author: mzzj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 11, 2022, 07:04:24 pm
content: Orlan 30 was interesting:https://mil.in.ua/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/16.pngLooks like lambda sensor/ control for both cylinders. Could be for altitude compensation but barometric pressure module would be 100 times cheaper and weight 1000 times less..Engine itself looks lot like hobby-RC Saito FG-61

author: hagster
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 12, 2022, 05:44:53 am
content: A lot of people mock the use of things like Cannon cameras and other commercial parts, but I don't think it matters much when this thing is above you directing artillery fire.Also check out that sophisticated antenna to the left of the camera at 1:25

author: Haenk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 12, 2022, 02:29:40 pm
content: Also checkhttps://twitter.com/uaweaponsThey often show downed drones and other conquered tech (but mainly blown up military vehicles from Ukraine and Russia).

author: Kleinstein
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 12, 2022, 02:57:39 pm
content: Quote from: hagster on April 12, 2022, 05:44:53 amMilitry electronics in many other areas tends to be slow moving. A 20 years old military grade design may very well be way inferior to reasonable modern and cheap commercial camera. Chances are the resolution is anyway limited by the downlink. So the property wanted is a good zoom and image stabilization and may be low light performance, not really high resolution.The somewhat dogy part to make fun of may be the RF part, that may be prone to interference.

author: mawyatt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 12, 2022, 04:58:03 pm
content: Military electronics has lagged behind commercial electronics for some time, the only electronics areas that seems more advanced are the Night Vision technology, radar, and some communications areas. Although, it's well known that many soldiers in the Iraq conflict were using commercial Walky-Talkies instead of the issued military radios which didn't work well in high density building areas!!Of course many of the government "Speciality Groups" which aren't part of the standard military have and use much more sophisticated technologies which generally aren't available for use on the military front lines.Certainly in the semiconductor area where our recent experience lies, the commercial sector has completely outpaced any government area we're familiar with. The most advanced "chips" are in your Smart Phones, PADs and Laptops, and not developed by government resources. However, the government has become very capable of altering the usage intent of the advanced chips for "other" purposesAnyway, with the present state of the Russian semiconductor technology don't think it's surprising this drone is using a Canon DSLR!!Best,

author: chickenHeadKnob
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2022, 05:08:24 am
content: What caught my eye: they didn't bother to remove the carrying strap from the camera.First rule of aircraft design - lighten and simplicate. A phrase I heard attributable to Ben Rich or one of the luminaries of Northrup's skunk works.Edit: what I thought was a carrying strap when viewing still photos turned out to be the retention strap securing the camera to the mount. Not how I would have done ,but OK I guess. See 1:00 to 1:35 of this video.

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2022, 04:02:19 pm
content: Quote from: ataradov on April 10, 2022, 09:12:17 pmNorth Korea uses those drones and flys them over South Korea where they have been shot down and landed. They use COTS digital cameras in them.They must be fairly cheap .