Kronshtadt Orion vs Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton

Kronshtadt Orion — licensed reference photograph

ADrones & UAVs

Kronshtadt Orion

Unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle (reconnaissance variant) and unmanned combat aerial vehicle (armed variant)

Credit

Nickel nitride · CC0 · Resized · CC0 · Source ↗ · Modified

Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton — licensed reference photograph

BDrones & UAVs

Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton

Maritime unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle and patrol aircraft

Credit

U.S. Navy · Public domain · Resized · Public domain · Source ↗ · Modified

First system

Second system

At a glance

Side by side

Length comparisonOne shared metre scale

Kronshtadt OrionOrion-E · Length

8 m

Length source ↗

Northrop Grumman MQ-4C TritonMQ-4C · Length

14.5 m

Length source ↗

Lengths retain their source configuration and measurement scope.

Measured figures

Head to head

14 of 26 rows sourced on both sides

8mOrion-E · Length

14.5mMQ-4C · Length

LengthScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

8 m

Orion-E · Length

Single source

8 m (26 ft 3 in)^[source]

14.5 m

MQ-4C · Length

Single source

47 ft 7 in (14.5 m)^[source]

16mOrion-E · Wingspan

39.9mMQ-4C · Wingspan

WingspanScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

16 m

Orion-E · Wingspan

Single source

16 m (52 ft 6 in)^[source]

39.9 m

MQ-4C · Wingspan

Single source

130 ft 11 in (39.9 m)^[source]

3mOrion-E · Height

4.6mMQ-4C · Height

HeightScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

3 m

Orion-E · Height

Single source

3 m (9 ft 10 in)^[source]

4.6 m

MQ-4C · Height

Single source

15 ft 5 in (4.6 m)^[source]

1.2t

14.6tGross; MQ-4C · Gross weight

MassScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

1,150 kg

Maximum take-off; Orion-E · Max takeoff weight

Single source

1,150 kg (2,535 lb)^[source]

6,781 kg

Empty; MQ-4C · Empty weight

Single source

14,630 kg

Gross; MQ-4C · Gross weight

Single source

14,945 lb (6,781 kg)^[source]

32,250 lb (14,630 kg)^[source]

200km/hMaximum; Orion-E · Maximum speed

575km/hMaximum; MQ-4C · Maximum speed

SpeedScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

120 km/h

Cruise; Orion-E · Cruise speed

Single source

200 km/h

Maximum; Orion-E · Maximum speed

Single source

200 km/h (120 mph, 110 kn)^[source]

120 km/h (75 mph, 65 kn)^[source]

575 km/h

Maximum; MQ-4C · Maximum speed

Single source

357 mph (575 km/h, 320 kn)^[source]

1,440kmOrion-E · Range

15,200kmMQ-4C · Range

RangeScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

1,440 km

Orion-E · Range

Single source

1,440 km (890 mi, 780 nmi)^[source]

15,200 km

MQ-4C · Range

Single source

9,400 mi (15,200 km, 8,200 nmi)^[source]

—

28.89–39.66kN

Thrust

All recorded figures & sources

28.89–39.66 kN

MQ-4C · 1 × Rolls-Royce AE 3007 turbofan engine thrust

Single source

1 × Rolls-Royce AE 3007 turbofan engine, 6,495–8,917 lbf (28.89–39.66 kN) thrust^[source]

250kgOrion-E · Payload

—

Payload

All recorded figures & sources

250 kg

Orion-E · Payload

Single source

250 kg (550 lb)^[source]

24hOrion-E · with 60 kg payload

30hMQ-4C · Endurance

EnduranceScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

24 h

Orion-E · with 60 kg payload

Single source

24 hours with 60 kg payload^[source]

30 h

MQ-4C · Endurance

Single source

30 hours^[source]

7,500mOrion-E · Service ceiling

17,000mMQ-4C · Service ceiling

Service ceilingScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

7,500 m

Orion-E · Service ceiling

Single source

7,500 m (24,600 ft)^[source]

17,000 m

MQ-4C · Service ceiling

Single source

56,000 ft (17,000 m)^[source]

Bars compare reported quantities only. A larger figure does not make a system better; configurations and test conditions differ.

Configuration

Details

Kronshtadt Orion and Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton configuration
Specification	Kronshtadt Orion	Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton
Crew	—	Unmanned – 4 personnel fly aircraft from ground station^[source]
Type	Unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle (reconnaissance variant) and unmanned combat aerial vehicle (armed variant)^[source]	Maritime unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle and patrol aircraft^[source]
National origin	Russia^[source]	United States^[source]
Manufacturer	Kronstadt Group^[source]	Northrop Grumman^[source]
Status	In service^[source]	Limited service^[source]
Primary user	Russian Ground Forces^[source]	—
Number built	48+^[source]	US: 68 (planned) + 2 prototypes Australia: 3 delivered out of 4 ordered^[source]
First flight	2016^[source]	22 May 2013 ( 2013-05-22 )^[source]
Missiles	Vikhr-1V laser-guided antitank missile , S8000 Banderol cruise missile^[source]	—
Primary users	—	United States Navy Royal Australian Air Force^[source]
Manufactured	—	48 as of 2024^[source]
Introduction date	—	May 2018^[source]
Developed from	—	Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk^[source]
Alternative designation	—	MQ-4C Triton^[source]

FORCETALLY

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Kronshtadt Orion

Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton

Crew

—

Unmanned – 4 personnel fly aircraft from ground station^[source]

Type

Unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle (reconnaissance variant) and unmanned combat aerial vehicle (armed variant)^[source]

Maritime unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle and patrol aircraft^[source]

National origin

Russia^[source]

United States^[source]

Manufacturer

Kronstadt Group^[source]

Northrop Grumman^[source]

Status

In service^[source]

Limited service^[source]

Primary user

Russian Ground Forces^[source]

—

Number built

48+^[source]

US: 68 (planned) + 2 prototypes Australia: 3 delivered out of 4 ordered^[source]

First flight

2016^[source]

22 May 2013 ( 2013-05-22 )^[source]

Missiles

Vikhr-1V laser-guided antitank missile , S8000 Banderol cruise missile^[source]

—

Primary users

—

United States Navy Royal Australian Air Force^[source]

Manufactured

—

48 as of 2024^[source]

Introduction date

—

May 2018^[source]

Developed from

—

Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk^[source]

Alternative designation

—

MQ-4C Triton^[source]