Ukrainian Intelligence Service claims to have obtained classified information from the company that manufactures the Orlan-10/30 Russian drones, used for reconnaissance and artillery direction.
The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry reports that it received 100 gigabytes of classified data from the Russian company “Special Technology Center” (STC) with headquarters in St. Petersburg, where military equipment and machinery used by the Russian Armed Forces in the war against Ukraine are produced. One of their most renowned products are the Orlan family of drones, but they also produce a range of electronic warfare and reconnaissance equipment, among other military items.
According to Ukrainian Intelligence, the transferred information set includes documentation for 194 nomenclature elements: drawings, specifications, patents, software, etc., both for existing and future military developments. According to preliminary estimates, the value of the data obtained could amount to $1.5 billion.
This classified information, coming from one of the critical enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex, would have been obtained thanks to sympathizers of the Ukrainian cause within the Russian civil society and the media community.
The Orlan drones produced by STC
Orlan-10
It is a light (maximum take-off weight of 15 kg), simple and low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed for the Russian Armed Forces. It takes off by means of a folding catapult system and is recovered by parachute. It has a range of 600 km and can stay in the air for up to 16 hours. It has a modular composite fuselage that reduces its radar signature and can carry multiple payloads of up to 5 kilos, including relay antennas, small electronic warfare systems and optronic systems for reconnaissance.
Several of these drones were destroyed by the Ukrainians during the conflict. One particular case was very striking, because they found that the downed Orlan-10 was carrying a commercial Canon camera as a reconnaissance sensor, which was attached to the coupling plate to the drone’s body by Velcro tape (never underestimate the power of Velcro!).
Orlan-30
It is a subsequent and larger development (maximum take-off weight of 27 kg) of the Orlan-10, which can carry various payloads of up to 8 kg. The Orlan-30 UAV complex is designed for exploration, search, detection and optical-electronic reconnaissance of objects on land or water, during day and night and in adverse weather conditions.
The Orlan-30 is particularly useful for target designation for precision weapons and for artillery fire correction, as its optronic system features a laser rangefinder/designator.
See also: Russia to mass-produce drones in the Far East, far from Ukrainian weapons range and next to China
Intelligence or propaganda operation?
It seems strange that having gained such an advantage, the Ukrainian Intelligence Service would make it public. Either this is a Ukrainian propaganda operation, or there is no point in hiding it because Moscow is well aware of the situation.
Assuming all this is true, and depending on the type and quality of the classified information leaked to Kiev, Ukrainian forces could use it to find a more effective way to detect and neutralize the Orlan drone threat, such as either effectively jamming their data link (or even hacking them), or allowing them to program their own electronic intelligence assets to detect and geolocate the command centers of these drones, which would put Russian operators in grave danger.
The struggle between the drone and the anti-drone means is very dynamic, and no advantage is certain to last forever. No doubt Russian technicians will already be trying to minimize the impact on this serious security breach, but if the Orlans take a break from Ukrainian skies for a while, it will be evidence enough to lend credibility to claims of the theft of classified information.
