Russia plans to increase drone production nearly tenfold in 2024 compared with 2023, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Novosibirsk Institute of Aviation Technology in St. Petersburg.
Addressing a meeting of the Military-Industrial Commission on Special Purpose UAVs on Thursday, Putin said that some 140,000 drones of various types were delivered to the Armed Forces in 2023. This year, production of drones is likely to be significantly increased this year. Meanwhile, the range of unmanned systems is expanding and crewless boats are coming off the drawing table, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to the Russian President, by 2030, 48 research and production centers for drone design, testing, and serial production will appear all over the country.
According to Putin, the national project on unmanned systems is to be placed since this year till 2030. This project should increase domestic components and materials for the development and production of drones, which is a very important step towards achieving technological independence in such a big sphere, he added.
Before the meeting, Putin visited the Special Technology Center, a Russian technology and defence industry company, in St. Petersburg. There he inspected modern unmanned aircraft systems with target payloads and special software - including artificial intelligence technologies - as well as other types of armaments and equipment.
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