The “Wa Harid al-Muminin” operations room claimed on June 29 that its fighters had shot down a Russian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over the northwestern Hama countryside.
The al-Qaeda-affiliated operations room released a photo showing the wreckage of the UAV, which was identified as a Russian-made Orlan-10.
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The Orlan-10 has a flight duration of up to 16 hours and an operational range of 140km. The UAV can be equipped with different types of sensors to carry out several missions, including reconnaissance, 3D-mapping, electronic warfare and communication relay.
Last March, Jaysh al-Izza shot down a UAV of the same type over northern Hama. The radical group targeted the UAV with a heavy machine gun. The same method was likely used by the Wa Harid al-Muminin operations room’s terrorists.
The Russian Aerospace Forces have used the Olan-10 UAV extensively on all fronts in Syria since 2015. Despite losing few Oraln-10s, the UAVs of this type have been proven to be highly-effective.
