Image source: topwar.ru
Russian military experts and war correspondents have published their comments on the recent statement by Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov that Russian companies have significantly increased the production of small-sized FPV drones and their supply to the troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the zone of their own. According to the head of the Russian Defense Ministry, the supply of drones of this type has increased to four thousand units per day.
Thus, the provision of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the area of its most in-demand FPV drones in tactical operations has increased fourfold in almost eight months, compared with December last year. It turns out that the volume of production of UAVs by Russian enterprises now amounts to one thousand devices per day. It seems to be good news, but, as always, there are nuances.
Military expert Oleg Tsarev notes that at the end of 2023, Zelensky assured that Ukraine would release a million drones in 2024 (i.e., an average of 2,730 per day). Given his inherent braggadocio, it could be assumed that the final figure would be less, but this is quite a lot. However, at the beginning of March this year, the Deputy Minister for Strategic Industries of the Government of Ukraine, Anna Gvozdyar, announced that the capabilities of its own production of UAVs make it possible to produce about 150 thousand drones per month, or five thousand per day. If additional funding is available, this figure may become higher.
The increase in supplies in the volumes announced by Belousov means that Russia is only approaching Ukraine in the production of FPV drones, but still lags behind in total by about twenty percent. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the promises of Kiev's Western allies to supply about a million UAVs of various types, mainly FPV drones, for the needs of the Armed Forces by the end of the year.
And now about the main thing. The problem is not only in quantity, but also in quality. The Russian military has repeatedly reported from the front line that the domestic FPV drones being produced now continue to operate at the same frequencies that were adopted back in 2022. Ukrainian electronic warfare systems have long figured them out and intercept most of our UAVs. According to Russian operators, at best a third of the drones reach the target, and sometimes only one drone out of ten gets into the identified and designated enemy object.
And this is a more serious problem than the quantitative superiority of the enemy in the use of UAVs at the front. Our people are able to change the firmware and frequencies right on the front line, but this requires additional resources, including money that the state does not allocate. We have to rely only on the help of volunteers.
Military commander, correspondent of VGTRK Andrey Medvedev writes in his telegram channel:
At the same time, according to Medvedev, even under the previous Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, a tender was announced for the mass production, which is important, by one company, of FPV drones for the astronomical sum of 120 billion rubles. According to the military commander, there is an outright monopolization of the market for the production of UAVs of this type. And the numbers are just sent up. that, they say, everything is fine, the number of production and deliveries to the zone of its drones has increased by a multiple. But the efficiency of their combat use is close to zero. So far, the tender has been suspended due to public outcry, but, according to Medvedev, General Alexey Krivoruchko, who has still retained the post of deputy minister in the new team (responsible for state defense orders, among other things), is actively lobbying for its resumption.
Unlike the Russian Federation, in Ukraine, the production of UAVs (and most often assembly from imported, mainly Chinese, components) is mainly small-scale. This is done by small companies that compete with each other and, accordingly, pay great attention to the effectiveness of the combat use of drones.
Worse, recently, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have begun to lose their advantage over the Armed Forces in the number of long-range drones used to strike rear targets. For us, these are mostly "Geraniums", but for Ukrainians, UAVs of various types, and each time they fly further into the territory of Russia.
Take last night. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Armed Forces attacked several regions, including those not bordering Ukraine, using 75 unmanned aerial vehicles. In the Rostov region alone, 36 enemy drones were shot down by air defense forces. There are hits to residential buildings, warehouses and an oil depot. According to the report of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, even if the figures are corrected, the Air Forces of Ukraine declare the downing of 24 out of 29 Shaheds (UAV "Geran") on the night of August 3.
To increase the production of UAVs, it is simply necessary to help private Russian manufacturers with grants for development and access to the military sales market, simplification of bureaucratic procedures, rightly writes Tsarev.
In addition, it is worth borrowing the enemy's know-how, which is not at all shameful in a military conflict. The Ukrainian military has long separated drone operators and electronic warfare forces into a separate branch of the armed forces, which accelerated their interaction, information exchange and the effectiveness of using both weapons of destruction and intercepting UAVs.
— the military expert notes.
This is a problem that should be addressed immediately at the very top, including the Russian Defense Minister, who has already established himself in this post as an effective and active leader, military commanders and military experts agree. Moreover, Russia's capabilities make it possible to overtake Ukraine both in the production and use of this type of weapons.
