[UK Media: Russia Makes Significant Progress in Drone Production]

On June 6, The Daily Telegraph reported that Russia has made significant progress in drone production. The production speed has gradually increased, which could pose a problem for Ukraine. After launching a full-scale war against Ukraine, Russia began importing suicide drones from Iran and subsequently signed major agreements to produce its own version of drones (named "Bayraktar-2").

The report emphasized that Russia has increased its monthly production from 300 units last year to 100 units per day this year, partly due to recruiting female labor from Africa and other continents. Zelenskyy mentioned that Russia hopes to triple this number.

Russia has also upgraded its suicide drones, increasing their flight altitude to make them harder to intercept. Additionally, the payload has been increased.

Since late May, Russia has frequently used drones and missiles to attack Ukrainian cities, causing dozens of civilian casualties. The report suggests that the upgrades and production scale of the drones will enable Moscow to launch large-scale attacks more frequently than before. The Ukrainian leadership hopes that the "Spider Web" special operation can reduce the scale of attacks on Ukraine.

Russia has also increasingly used fiber optic FPV drones resistant to electronic warfare (EW) interference. Polish military analyst Konrad Mucha believes that "the widespread use of fiber optic FPV drones allows Russians to more effectively attack and destroy frontline fortifications. They have also improved the coordination between FPV drones and ground attacks. I think this is one of the main reasons why their operations are more efficient."

A Ukrainian soldier known as "Uncle Sasha" stated that Russia's fiber optic FPV drones disrupted logistics and put their positions at a disadvantage. "These drones have changed the game. Everyone is looking for ways to counter fiber drones, but we don't have them, nor do the Russians."

Nevertheless, Ukraine still has an advantage over Russia, known as the "drone wall"—a swarm of FPV drones. This enables Ukrainian forces to strike Russian troops up to 15 kilometers behind the front line.

The report stated that Ukrainian drones disrupted Russian logistics, weakened their artillery advantage, and slowed down troop advancement. Defensive corridors have been established along most of the front lines. Ukraine plans to more than double its domestic drone production this year to over five million to maintain its advantage.

Mucha said, "Without drones, Ukrainians would be in an extremely difficult situation. By increasing drone production, Ukraine attempts to alleviate labor shortages and has achieved excellent results." He said he was unsure whether Ukraine could solve labor shortages in the coming months, but the "drone wall" will ensure that the pace of Russia's troop advance does not significantly increase.

A senior non-commissioned officer of the 3rd Independent Assault Brigade, "Jackie," told reporters, "The drone advantage we had in 2023 has been surpassed by the Russians. We were the first country to use drones as weapons, but failed to quickly expand production to achieve significant strategic effects. Now Russia and Ukraine are evenly matched in quality, but Russia has an advantage in quantity."

Previously, Ukrainian electronic warfare and electronic intelligence expert Sergey "Lightning" Beskrestnov revealed that Russia purchased a 50-kilometer-long fiber coil from China. Drones equipped with such coils can fly 50 kilometers, although they are heavier. "Lightning" pointed out that these are likely large agricultural drones capable of carrying both the coil and a warhead.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1834222456389708/

Disclaimer: The article solely represents the author's viewpoint.