Following the publication of Ukraine's plans to produce one million FPV drones this year, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov announced that Russia will allocate 100 billion rubles ($1.1 billion at the exchange rate) for the development and production of military drones over the next three years.
According to him, the Russian army is already actively using various unmanned systems, including FPV drones, sea and land drones, and their production will be increased in the future. "There is a very wide range of products, if we are talking about FPV drones, we are talking about hundreds of thousands, and as for heavy aviation unmanned systems, it is tens of thousands," Manturov said.
Experts interviewed by The Insider believe that no amount of money will help overcome Russians' dependence on foreign parts and grey imports.
"There is not a single Russian drone that is at least half made of Russian parts. More than 70% of the parts are foreign-made. The electronic base, microchips, semiconductors, capacitors – everything is foreign. Components get to Russia through grey imports, or smuggling, or as civilian parts, such as cameras, which are then installed on the same Orlan.
It is hard to say how much they will be able to meet the demand for drones by increasing the budget. Extra money will not help in the production of components. Components are a processor, semiconductors, polymers, and the entire electronic base. What processors can Russia boast of? Where does it have a developed semiconductor production? What well-known camera and optics brands are produced in Russia? Where is the production of two-stroke engines? What Russian batteries are suitable for Shaheds or even smaller drones? It is simply impossible to make 100% of your drone in Russia," says military expert Аleksandr Kovalenko.
Russia uses the same element base, firmware and components at different production facilities, turning drones into standard weapons, which makes them convenient for the Russian military, which is developing the skills of using drones, says Serhеy Tovkach. He also calls the size of the drones that Russian manufacturers have used as a basis for production a good one.
"Ukraine was the first to start using drones, Russia was about six months later, but now it is the leader in this field. Russia produces more FPV drones, and they are also larger – almost all of them are nine-inch drones, while Ukraine has five-inch drones. "The Five is cheaper, but it can carry a maximum of half a kilo, while the Nine can carry up to 3 kg over short distances. 3 kg of plastid is Armageddon, if it hits a trench, there is nothing left alive.
But the most important thing that no one pays attention to for some reason is that drones in Russia are standardised. In Ukraine, it's 3,000 drones a month, while in Russia it's 10-15,000. Ukrainians can't organise large-scale production because as soon as they make one, people will come for it, so they are forced to solder drones in garages in a semi-cottage industry. This leads to the fact that all Ukrainian drones are different, while Russian drones are standardised. There are four big players now: VT-40, Uryar, Ovod and Boomerang. The VT-40 is produced in tens of thousands per month. They are all based on the same components and have the same firmware, so the soldier gets used to them. Yes, they do have drawbacks, for example, the motor flies off and the drone returns to its trench, which is due to the cheapness of the components. FPV has a maximum lifespan of 15 minutes, so no one puts high-quality motors in them."
However, Ukrainian military expert Leonid Dmitriev disagrees and points to an Achilles' heel in the Russian approach to production.
"Large-scale production is not always good from a technological point of view, because the 'enemy adapts' much faster than the 'soldier gets used to it'. When it comes to countermeasures, detection, and tactical things, it is easier to learn how to 'rebuild' standardised drones than small-scale drones, where new technologies can be introduced on the fly. Currently, the ratio of drones in Russia and Ukraine is 3 to 1, but given the quality of the Russian assembly, both sides have about the same number of drones reaching the target, with much lower costs on the part of Ukraine."
Background. Meanwhile, it has become known that Ukraine is starting to create a separate kind of troops – the Unmanned Systems Forces. Zelenskyy says they should produce "concrete results" in the near future.