[1] From 5–8 December 2014, the Orion performed an 80-hour flight at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake witnessed by the National Aeronautic Association, breaking the 30.4-hour endurance record set by the Global Hawk in 2001; the aircraft flew between 4,500–10,000 ft (1,400–3,000 m) with 1,000 lb (450 kg) of ballast to simulate payload.

Upon landing, it had 1,700 lb (770 kg) of fuel remaining, enough to fly for an additional 37 hours, but endurance was limited by the window of availability of the range for testing; four pilots rotated over the course of the flight.

Aurora hoped the flight would convince the Air Force to procure the Orion for persistent surveillance, and the company looked at several other roles including a communications relay and to compete against the MQ-4C Triton naval recon UAV.

[2][4][5][6] After five years of development and completing its flight demonstration program, by September 2015 the aircraft was relegated to a company hangar with the Air Force deciding not to buy it.

Several reasons were given to explain this, including budget problems, a 40 m (132 ft) wingspan that cannot fit in many existing Air Force hangars, less speed, payload, and weapons capacity compared to the MQ-9 Reaper, and primarily the lack of an operational requirement for a multi-day, long-endurance unmanned aircraft.

With a mission range possible to over 9,500 nmi (17,600 km), the Orion can be positioned much further from the patrol area, reducing costs that would otherwise be needed to transport an aircraft to a closer main operating base; unit price is expected to be less than the Reaper.