Politico: Russia plans to increase production of kamikaze drones by 80%

Russia plans to increase production of carbon fiber, which is needed to make attack drones, which could allow it to produce tens of thousands of additional drones per year.

This is stated in the Politico article.

Journalists have reviewed documents from the Russian state corporation “Rosatom”. According to them, the Alabuga-Volokno plant in Tatarstan is planned to expand and increase carbon fiber production by 500 tons per year by 2029.

Alabuga-Volokno is called the only producer of carbon fiber in Russia, which is used to create lightweight and at the same time strong structures, in particular the fuselages of long-range drones.

According to the “Rosatom” documents, a new plant is planned to be built on the territory of the enterprise. Its main product should be carbon fiber of the UMT42S-3K brand, intended for the aerospace industry.

According to the expert, an additional 500 tons could be enough for approximately 28,000 strike drones per year. According to the Ukrainian side, Russiaʼs current production capabilities allow it to produce over 36 000 “Geran” strike drones per year.

Satellite images taken between May and July show that land earmarked for the expansion project has already been cleared for construction, with construction expected to be completed in 2027.

Russia is also trying to reduce its military industryʼs dependence on Chinese supplies and increase its own production, as it intends to produce about 130 000 drones for its national Unmanned Aerial Systems project by 2030. Russia plans to increase this number to 350 000 by 2035.

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