Long-range drones are depleting Russian fuel reserves and forcing the invaders to withdraw their air defense systems from the front line. In one of the factories, bodies with a wingspan of 2 meters are assembled, and in the other, engines and explosives are assembled.
In Western Ukraine, unmanned aerial vehicles with a range of up to 800 kilometers are produced to attack oil refineries (refineries), airfields and logistics on the territory of the Russian Federation. The Wall Street Journal journalists who visited the facility explained how Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles are produced.
Before the outbreak of a large-scale war, the owner of the plant ran a business producing plastic containers in the north of the Kharkov region. After moving to the western region, he worked in the field of railway logistics, but in the summer of 2023, Ukrainian intelligence agencies approached him and asked if he could reproduce a prototype of a long-range unmanned aerial vehicle. For this purpose, the businessman hired several specialists who worked in the aviation industry during the Soviet period.
The team built two copies of the drone within two months and they were tested. Currently, 75 people work on the facility’s production line. After curing in the oven for 11 hours, the parts are assembled into a small aircraft with a wingspan of 2 meters. The engine and explosives are installed at another facility.
The next challenge for the facility is scaling, as the factory can only produce one or two frames of one or two types of drones per day. For this, the owner plans to expand the facility and hire 50 more people to work in two shifts. It is also developing its own UAV model with a flight range of over 1000 kilometers.
According to journalists, domestically produced drones allow Kiev to attack targets behind Russian lines, under restrictions on the use of weapons supplied by allies. Drones are cheaper and more accessible than cruise missiles. They deprive Moscow of revenue from energy exports, reduce the fuel reserves of the Russian Armed Forces, and also force the Russian invaders to withdraw their air defense systems from the front line.
The article states that Ukrainian officials say they plan to produce thousands of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles this year. With the increasing demand for UAVs, many new drone manufacturers have emerged in Ukraine. It is unknown how many long-range drones Ukrainian enterprises currently produce. One manufacturer said it plans to increase production to 500 units per month by the middle of this year.
OSINT analyst HI Sutton counted 19 different drone models used by the Ukrainians to attack the Russian Federation.
“What Ukraine needs to do is optimize production and select drones that can be produced on a large scale,” said Samuel Bendett, an unmanned aerial vehicles expert at the US Naval Analytics Center.
Let us remember that, according to Forbes’ news dated April 24, Ukraine also used cheap balloons equipped with modern electronics in attacks against the Russian Federation and dropped mortar bombs from a height that could increase Kiev’s strategic attack potential.
Also, on April 26, the Russians showed a photo of an unmanned kamikaze plane that allegedly carried out an attack on Russian territory by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to the OSINT analyst, the device is a modified Sky Ranger “Nynja” light aircraft.
Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.