The Unmanned Air System (UAS) industry continues its explosive growth in the defense sector led by such concerns as Aeronautics Systems of Israel. The company produces a complete line up of UAS types to cover a myriad of military, security, and peacetime roles. Its marquee product is the "Orbiter" which has seen extensive adoption around the globe with operators ranging from Azerbaijan and Finland to the United Kingdom and the United States.
Orbiter 2
The Orbiter 2 is a compact, highly-portable "mini-UAS" marketed towards various industries including border surveillance, convoy support, special forces operations, and artillery-spotting. It can operate over both land or over-water (maritime) covering requirements related to general patrol, territorial/law enforcement, target observation, target designation, local ship defense, and general surveillance.
This aircraft has a wingspan of 3 meters with an MTOW nearing 10.3kg while a mission payload of up to 1.5kg is supported). Payload types include a stabilized Electro-Optical (EO) camera arrangement for daytime operation, a FLIR setup for low-light/night time level flights, "dual day and night" configuration (stabilized EO camera), and High-Definition (HD) receiving capabilities for terrain mapping and modeling.
Flight operation of the aircraft are conducted through an electric drive powering a two-bladed propeller at the rear of the slim fuselage in "pusher" configuration, the system reaching speeds of 70 kts while range (by Line-of-Sight datalink) is up to 100 km. Automatic waypoint hunting is supported and a mission endurance window up to 4 hours is reported. Only wing mainplanes are used in the aircraft's design (the aircraft lacks traditional tail surfaces) and these are swept back with upturned tips.
The platform has a dual-payload capability to cover operations in both day and night light levels and can be readied in as little as seven minutes while featuring an automatic take-off and recovery process by way of pneumatic catapult and airbag-parachute, respectively.
Orbiter 3
The Orbiter 3 is billed as a "Small Tactical UAV" (STUAV) built on compactness and lightweight. It fits its optics set in the nose (at the chin position) and has a similar two-bladed pusher prop arrangement at the rear of a slim fuselage. The wing mainplanes are blended well into the body (fuselage) but this entry of the Orbiter has down-turned tips as well as the addition of foreplanes near the nose. Like other entries of the series, it can be used in day-night environments and over land or water (maritime).
The optics set is fully-stabilized and includes day, night, FLIR (Forward-Looking InfraRed), and laser designation functionality. A zoom feature provides strong details of the target/target area. The aircraft can be used to satisfy an over-battlefield SIGnals INTelligence (SIGINT) role as need be.
The Orbiter 4 is marketed towards various unique industries including Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) enforcement, target direction, and artillery-spotting and includes many of the capabilities proven through the 3-series model. It features swept-back mainplanes with down-turned tips and foreplanes as in the 3-series UAS. More advanced avionics, ground control support, and communications as integrated into this upgraded form for broader tactical applications. Wingspan reaches 5.4 meters while the MTOW is 50 kilograms and the mission payload increases to 12kg. The datalink gives an LoS range out to 150 kilometers and the vehicle's service ceiling reaches up to 18,000 feet. Endurance is up to 24 hours of flight time.
Greater range and payload capabilities means enhanced versatility for covering a myriad of over-battlefield roles. A three-man team is dedicated to the operation of this model.
Orbiter 1K
The Orbiter 1K has been developed as a "multi-mission" type UAS with a secondary capability as an expendable munitions platform with enhanced loitering times. It sports the same body and wing shape of previous Orbiter iterations (though this form has upturned wingtips). The aircraft can be used as a precise targeted munitions system and comes completed with a video-based tracker, digital communications suite, and variable camera/explosive payload options. Launching is by way of catapult with recovery by airbag/parachute or netting.
The Orbiter 1K is based in the original Orbiter 2 production model.
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January 2019 - The Israeli state-owned concern of Rafael is seeking to purchase Aeronautics Defense, a publicly-run, UAV-centered company within Israel.
October 2020 - Azerbaijan has been using its fleet of Orbiter surveillance drones in its war against neighboring Armenia. The vehicles are produced locally and currently number 10 units.
Azerbaijan; Croatia; Finland; Indonesia; Ireland; Israel; Mexico; Peru; Poland; Serbia; South Africa; Spain; Thailand; Turkmenistan; United States; United Kingdom
(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
✓Ground Attack (Bombing, Strafing)
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.
✓Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR), Scout
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.
✓Special Forces
Serving Special Forces / Special Operations elements and missions.
✓Unmanned Capability
Aircraft inherently designed (or later developed) with an unmanned capability to cover a variety of over-battlefield roles.
Width/Span
9.8 ft (3.00 m)
Empty Wgt
11 lb (5 kg)
MTOW
22 lb (10 kg)
Wgt Diff
+11 lb (+5 kg)
(Showcased structural values pertain to the Aeronautics Group Orbiter 2 production variant)
monoplane / shoulder-mounted / swept-back
Monoplane
Design utilizes a single primary wing mainplane; this represent the most popular mainplane arrangement.
Shoulder-Mounted
Mainplanes are mounted at the upper section of the fuselage, generally at the imaginary line intersecting the pilot's shoulders.
Swept-Back
The planform features wing sweep back along the leading edges of the mainplane, promoting higher operating speeds.
(Structural descriptors pertain to the Aeronautics Group Orbiter 2 production variant)
Installed:
1 x Electric drive powering a two-bladed propeller unit at the rear of the fuselage in pusher arrangement.
(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the Aeronautics Group Orbiter 2 production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)
None. Orbiter 2/II payload up to 1.5 kilograms consisting of mission equipment related to the ISR role.
Supported Types
(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)
Orbiter - Base Series Name.
Orbiter 2 - Mini-UAS solution.
Orbiter 3 - Small Tactical UAV (STUAV).
Orbiter 4 - Special-mission variant.
Orbiter 1K "Kingfisher" - Model of 2015; expendable munition model with 4.4lb explosive payload.
Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.
Images Gallery
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Image released to the Public Domain by Wikipedia user Alexmitt; Serbian Army UAS displayed.
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Azerbaijan; Croatia; Finland; Indonesia; Ireland; Israel; Mexico; Peru; Poland; Serbia; South Africa; Spain; Thailand; Turkmenistan; United States; United Kingdom
