Increased production: how many drones can Russia produce monthly

Increased production: how many drones can Russia produce monthly? Anzhelika Galesevich

Russia has increased production of Shahed kamikaze drones from 500 to 800 units per month. This is primarily due to direct deliveries from Iran.

Several hundred drones can be brought to the aggressor country. This information was shared with 24 Channel by communications expert, head of the Radio Technology Center Sergei Beskrestnov (Flash).

On the number of “Shaheds” that Russia is capable of producing

If Russia increased the production of attack “Shaheds” by 3-4 times, according to Beskrestnov, all of Ukraine would feel it due to the increase in strikes. Unfortunately, Russian drones hit houses and as a result people die, but there is no significant increase in such strikes. This just confirms that among the large number of UAVs that attack Ukraine, there are decoy drones.

They do not have a combat charge, and are aimed at distracting air defense systems and mobile groups. They are talking about the Gerbera drone, similar to the Shahed, but with a different engine and a lower cost. It does not have defensive navigation systems. It is literally a parody of a UAV, since it is made of cardboard and has a regular plastic bag with fuel instead of a fuel tank.

It is still difficult for the defense forces to distinguish when a real Shahed is flying, and when there are decoy copies. Because even inside the Gerbera, the Russians place a plastic layer, which is covered with foil on one side. It is also called the “Luneberg lens”, so the air defense sees a small drone the size of the Shahed. So, you can tell by speed, but it is difficult for mobile groups to immediately understand what is flying, so they spend ammunition to shoot down an enemy drone.

The Russians produced about 500 Shaheds per month, and they continue to do so. They have now increased production to 800 units, but not as significantly as they could have. They are acting according to their forecasts, – noted the head of the Center for Radio Technologies.

The increase in the production of attack UAVs is influenced by direct deliveries from Iran. The planes that land in Russia can bring several hundred Shaheds. Considering the wreckage, we can say that there are absolutely different modifications, possibly even Iranian ones.

How to counter Russian “Shaheds”

As Sergey Beskrestnov noted, the tactics of fighting “Shaheds” are unchanged. Three components work: air defense, electronic warfare and mobile groups.

Interestingly, it is precisely against decoy drones that electronic warfare systems, for example “Pokrov”, effectively work. They divert them from Ukrainian territory, which is why information like “UAVs are flying to Moldova, Romania and Belarus” often appears. Drones do not have secure navigation channels, so they lose the signal and fly away to neighboring countries.