Russia plans to ramp up its production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), aiming to produce more than 32,000 drones annually by the year 2030. This ambitious goal was announced by Andrei Belousov, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia. According to a report by TASS, as cited by Reuters, Belousov stated that the plan excludes training drones and is almost three times the current production volumes.
Moreover, Russia intends for its domestically produced drones to constitute 70% of the market for these types of UAVs. In support of this initiative, Russia will fund its national drone project with an investment of 696 billion rubles (approximately 7.66 billion U.S. dollars) by 2030, with further details expected to be released later this month.
The use of drones has been extensive in the ongoing military operations in Ukraine, with both Moscow and Kyiv deploying these UAVs since the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. Both sides are significantly increasing their military production as the conflict continues. Ukraine, in December of the previous year, announced its plans to produce over 11,000 medium and long-range attack drones by 2024.
As of recent reports, Russia’s drone production is progressing, but it still faces significant challenges and lags in certain areas. The country is making steady efforts to increase its capacity for manufacturing drones. For instance, Russia is constructing its own drone factory in the Tatarstan region, with the aim of producing 6,000 drones by the summer of 2025. However, this project is reportedly slightly behind schedule.
Currently, the Russian drone industry is not very advanced compared to global standards. While Russia produces a number of drones, they have heavily relied on Iranian-made Shahed unmanned aerial vehicles in their operations in Ukraine. Russia’s drone capabilities are principally in reconnaissance, targeting, and electronic warfare, with combat UAVs like the Orion and Altius still in the development phase at the beginning of 2022.
Despite efforts to develop its drone technology, Russia’s UAV industry faces challenges due to the loss of significant parts of its drone supply chains before 2022. Western sanctions and Russia’s decreasing financial, technological, and human capabilities have undermined sophisticated UAV projects started in the 2010s. This has also affected the Strategy of Development of Unmanned Aviation for 2030–2035 issued in 2023.
