Russia: Central Military District integrates Orlan-10 UAVs with BM-21 Grad MRLs.

The units of the Central Military District (CMD) have integrated their BM-21 Grad 122 mm multiple rocket launch (MRL) systems with Orlan-10 tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), according to the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD).

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 The Orlan-10 systems can control four drones simultaneously. It can also organize a network of 30 operators to control the payloads of simultaneously launched drones. Orlan-10 takeoff weight is 14 kg and the payload is up to 5 kg. It is equipped with a photo camera, gyro-stabilized TV camera and an infrared imager. The cruising speed is 90-150 km/h and the practical ceiling is 5000 meters. Flight duration is 16 hours and the range is up to 120 km from the ground control station (up to 600 km in autonomous regime) (Picture source: Army Recognition)

“The crews of the Grad MRLs practiced target engagement during an exercise in Kuzbass. The Orlan-10 UAVs provided target designation data to the command posts and controlled the engagement process,” said the MoD in a news release.

The Grad MRLs were integrated with both UAVs and the Strelets command-and-control system. The launchers were firing rockets at distances between 8 km and 20 km.

Some 300 servicemen and 70 weapon systems were involved in the exercise, said the MoD.

Recently, Russian military also integrated Orlan-10 and Takhion UAVs with Msta-B howitzers.

The BM-21 122 mm multiple rocket launcher (MRL) system entered service with the Soviet Army in 1963 to replace the aging 140 mm BM-14 system. The main role of the BM-21 Grad system is to support the division with suppressive fire to counter anti-tank missile, artillery and mortar positions, destroy strong points and eliminate enemy nodes of resistance on the immediate battlefield (Picture source: Army Recognition)

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