Russia accelerates drone production.

Russia's aviation industry is booming, driven by seemingly insatiable demand for thousands of drones.

According to data from the Russian Federal Statistics Service, industrial output, including manned and unmanned military aircraft, increased by 117% in April compared to the same period last year. However, this figure is still lower than the average annual growth rate of 68% projected for 2025.

This increase reflects Ukraine's shift toward new economic and military spheres in President Vladimir Putin's special military operation in Ukraine, now in its fifth year.

Members of the Russian Black Sea Fleet's reconnaissance brigade prepare for a drone takeoff. (Photo: Sputnik)

Bloomberg suggests that as the production and use of conventional tanks and armored vehicles reach their limits, inexpensive, scalable unmanned systems, including first-person drones, become one of the few industrial sectors in Russia still capable of rapid growth.

"First-person drones are now a dominant factor in ground combat, with dangerous concentrations of forces within kilometers in front of and behind the contact line," said Douglas Barrie, a senior research fellow in military aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Currently, Moscow is ramping up drone production alongside the establishment of a new dedicated drone systems unit, a move ordered by President Putin by mid-2025.

Summarizing the results for 2025, Russian Defense Minister Andrey Removich Belousov also acknowledged that Ukrainian forces had previously held the advantage in the use of drones in combat, but asserted that Russia had reversed the situation. Details regarding the volume of military production were not released.

Previously, Putin stated that 1.4 million drones would be produced by 2024. According to Ukrainian military intelligence data cited by the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, in May, Russia plans to produce 7.3 million first-person drones and 7.8 million warheads for various types of drones by 2026.

(Source: Bloomberg)

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