Russia’s Orion strike drone test-launched the latest munitions to eliminate autonomous helicopter targets produced by Technodinamika Group (within the state tech corporation Rostec) during trials, the Group’s press office reported on Wednesday.

"An Orion strike drone tested the use of new weapons. Under the scenario of the drills, a helicopter was set to break through into a military airfield while the Orion was tasked with detecting and eliminating it in the absence of other air defense capabilities," Technodinamika said.

Unique VM-V unmanned helicopter simulator targets produced by the Dinamika Center were involved in the tests, the press office specified.

"Our aerial target simulator entered service with the Aerospace Forces a year ago and over this period, this innovation has proven its worth, helping practice measures for detecting and eliminating a notional air enemy," the press office quoted Technodinamika CEO Igor Nasenkov as saying.

The helicopter simulator can operate in the air for no less than two hours, climbing to an altitude of 2.5 km and maintaining radio communications at a range of 150 km. The system successfully passed state trials in October 2020. The first batch of serial-produced helicopter simulators was delivered to the Russian troops in late 2020.