In an active industrial center in Russia, engineers were busy planning. The team was secretly tasked with building a 24/7 production line to manufacture explosive drones, weapons that President Vladimir Putin’s forces could use to bomb Ukrainian cities.
The Beginning of the Russian-Iranian Deal
A former official from the Russian Federal Security Service was assigned to secure the program. Employees’ passports were confiscated to prevent them from leaving the country. In communications and other documents, engineers used coded language: drones were referred to as “boats”, their explosives as “buffers”, and Iran – the country providing secret technical assistance – was called “Ireland” or “Belarus”.
The Goal of the Deal
The goal of the deal is to build 6,000 drones by the summer of 2025, enough to compensate for the Russian army’s shortfall in unmanned aircraft on the front lines. If successful, the new massive drone factory could help Russia maintain its dwindling supply of precision-guided munitions, disrupt Ukraine’s efforts to regain occupied territories, and significantly bolster Moscow’s position in the drone arms race reshaping modern warfare.
Challenges and Progress
Documents indicate that engineers at the center are trying to improve the outdated manufacturing techniques used in Iran, leveraging Russian industrial expertise to produce drones on a larger scale with better quality control. They are also looking to implement improvements to the drones themselves, including making them capable of swarm attacks where drones coordinate independently to strike a specific target.
Delays in the Timeline
According to estimates from the research team at the Institute for Science and International Security, work at the center in the special economic zone in Tatarstan is at least a month behind schedule. So far, the center has managed to reassemble drones supplied by Iran, but has only produced drone airframes, likely numbering no more than 300 drones. The center is unlikely to achieve its goal of producing 6,000 drones.
Manufacturing Improvements and Challenges in Sourcing Components
Documents suggest that the center is facing challenges in sourcing the necessary components to build the drones, especially after Western restrictions affected Russia’s ability to access imported electronics. A detailed inventory shows that over 90 percent of the microchips and electronic components required to build the drones are manufactured in the West, mainly in the United States. According to the document, only four of the 130 electronic components are made in Russia.
Supply and Recruitment Delays
Documents indicate that the center is struggling to fill specialized positions, as the team lacks experts in key and complex drone development fields, including electronic warfare systems. Many employees at the center have traveled to drone manufacturing facilities in Iran to gain experience. Workers from Central Asia have been sent to Iran to oversee the assembly process and train for drone construction in Russia.
Other Challenges and Timetable Delays
Russia faces challenges in obtaining the necessary components to build the drones, especially concerning the drone engine. To achieve the project’s final phase, Russia will need to develop its own version of the engine, which is considered one of the more complex tasks. Documents indicate that the center is working on improving the drones and replacing faulty Chinese electronic components with more reliable alternatives.
Challenges
In Delivery and Production
The center faced difficulties in delivering the aircraft and equipment to the center. The first Iranian shipments arrived at Begishevo Airport in Tatarstan without prior notice. The staff at the center found it challenging to organize the basic logistics to transport the shipment to the warehouse. Initially, the drone boxes were stored in a nearly empty warehouse, as the center was not yet prepared even for simple tasks like reinstalling the disassembled parts of the drone for transport.
Despite these challenges, the engineers at the center are working on improving and developing the drones. They have replaced the faulty Chinese electronic components with more reliable alternatives and made modifications to the drone structure to enhance its performance.
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