Russia expands its main Shahed drone production plant: Satellite images
Photo: the Alabuga Special Economic Zone (wikipedia.org)
Russia builds new Shahed drone production facilities in Alabuga
OSINT researchers analyzed satellite imagery of the site and identified the start of large-scale construction work.
Construction has been launched in the southern section of the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, with the development area covering approximately 340 hectares.
Notably, the construction of new production workshops for manufacturing Shahed drones began in May 2026.
Photo: satellite images of Alabuga (t.me/DniproOfficial)
What is known about Alabuga
Alabuga is Russia's largest industrial-production special economic zone. During the full-scale war against Ukraine, it became Russia's main production site for assembling Shahed/Geran attack drones.
The facility is located near the city of Yelabuga in Tatarstan, approximately 1,200 kilometers from Ukraine's border.
A major fire broke out in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in late November 2025. The fire covered an area of about 1,000 square meters.
Ukraine has issued a notice of suspicion against Timur Shagivaleev, the CEO of Alabuga. Investigators say that more than 13,000 Shahed drones were produced under his leadership.
Ukraine has also called on YouTube to block advertising related to Alabuga. Reports indicate that teenagers have been recruited there to participate in the production of attack drones.
