Russia expanding plant to produce 78% more drones annually - Politico
Photo: Russians are currently capable of producing 36,000 Geran drones per year (Getty Images)
Russia is preparing a sharp increase in carbon fiber production for kamikaze drones - a key material for their fuselages. This will allow the Kremlin to produce tens of thousands of additional strike unmanned aerial vehicles annually, according to POLITICO.
The expansion of the Alabuga-Fibre plant in Tatarstan will enable Moscow to produce an additional 500 tons of military-grade carbon fiber annually by 2029 - this material is critically important for drone fuselages.
According to expert estimates, this will mean an additional 28,000 armed drones per year—a 78% increase compared to the current level. Currently, Russia is capable of producing over 36,000 Geran drones per year.
The plant and its parent company UMATEX are under sanctions from the US, Britain, and other Western countries. Earlier this year, the enterprise already received a disguised shipment of chemicals for carbon fiber from China.
The Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center obtained the expansion plans; their authenticity was confirmed by the relevant US House of Representatives committee and the Ukrainian government. Satellite images from May-July show that the territory near the plant is already being cleared for construction.
Moscow seeks to reduce dependence on imports from China and is scaling up its own production - under a national project, the country plans to produce about 130,000 drones by 2030 and up to 350,000 by 2035.
Ukrainian Defense Intelligence (GUR) has already shown what Russia uses to make Geran drones in Alabuga - the intelligence agency published data on 20 units of foreign technological equipment used for drone production in the special economic zone.
Recently, intelligence also published data on the enterprises of the Radioelectronic Technologies concern of the Rostec holding on the War&Sanctions portal—one-third of them are still not under any sanctions, although the concern's products are used in the production of EW systems, electric motors, and navigation systems for UAVs.
