The Russian arms industry has significantly increased its production this year, President Vladimir Putin said during his speech at the meeting of the Military and Defense Commission in St. Petersburg on Thursday.
“Today, the companies in the arms sector work rhythmically and accurately, doing everything they can to provide the armed forces with modern weapons, technology, ammunition and equipment for the special military operation,” he said, using the Kremlin expression to describe Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Last year, Russian forces received 140,000 drones, this year that number will rise to 1.4 million, he said, but he also called for further increases.
Drones have become one of the most important weapons for both sides, used for reconnaissance missions, combat infantry, armored vehicles and even strategic targets in the hinterland.
China imposed stricter export restrictions on drones and drone parts in September, but until then both Russia and Ukraine had relied heavily on partially converted Chinese drones, mainly for short-range reconnaissance flights.
Both Kiev and Moscow are now focusing heavily on further developing their own drones.
Putin stated that another 48 drone production facilities would be established by 2030. He stressed that Russia must become independent of foreign resources in this area.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in turn, confirmed Kiev’s goal of producing at least 1 million drones. “And this year there will be more in total,” he said.
In July, the Ukrainian military reportedly deployed even more drones than Russian forces in an attempt to repel the February 2022 Russian invasion of Kiev.
