Drone factory | |
|---|---|
| Manufactory | |
| Owner | Russian Federation |
| Location | Alabuga Special Economic Zone, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia |
 | |
The Yelabuga drone factory is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV or drone) factory in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, near Yelabuga, Repbulic of Tatarstan, Russia, operated by the Russian company Albatross. It develops drones for military use in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and is largely staffed by college students, including minors.
The manufacturing plant develops Shahed-style unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) [1] and "Albatross" reconnaissance drones. [2] It is located in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, near Yelabuga, Repbulic of Tatarstan, Russia, more than 1,300km from the Ukraine-Russia border. [1] Within the Special Economic Zone, the drones are reportedly referred to as "boats" (Russian : лодок). [3] It was built near the Kama River, allowing direct transportation via ship directly from Iran through the Caspian Sea, [4] [2] The plant was built with materials provided by Iran. [5] The plant is operated by Albatross, a Russian company that previously made agricultural technologies, [2] and now produces drones for use in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [5] Albatross has developed long-range reconnaissance drones for use in the war, called "Albatross" or "Albatros M5" drones. [2] [6] Before and during the plant's development, Iran supplied UCAVs for Russia to use in the invasion of Ukraine. [7] [8] [9] The factory opened in July 2023. [2]
In July 2023, an investigation revealed the factory recruits students of Alabuga Polytech, a branch of the Yelabuga Polytechnic College, as workers, some as young as 15. As of August 2023, the factory had several hundred students employed. [10] The students were promised a job and locally competitive salary of up to 70,000 rubles (US$700) per month as part of a work experience program. Instead, students enrolled were encouraged, and in some cases pressured, into working at the drone facility where their salaries are contingent on meeting production quotas, sometimes working 15 hours shifts without overtime pay, and "often without proper breaks or meals, and under hostile conditions that have deeply affected their mental health". [10] School staff instructed students not to tell their parents about the drone assembly work, [10] or they would be fined 1.5 million to 2 million rubles, per their employment contract with Alabuga Polytech. [11]
Russia intends to build 6,000 UCAVs by summer 2025 [12] at a rate of 310 drones per month, operating the factory 24 hours a day. [4] It predicts the cost of production of one Geran-2 will be US$48,000, or 25% of the cost to purchase. [4]
Shahed drones were previously built by Shahed Aviation Industries in Iran, where, allegedly, every drone manufactory has two backup sites in the event of an aerial attack at one site. [4] According to a document submitted by Ukraine to the G7, Shahed drones are built with commercially available parts sold by companies headquartered in the United States, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Japan, and Poland. [13] The document suggested there is no deliberate wrongdoing on the part of the companies, and that, due to the commercial availability of the parts, the parts are simply poorly regulated or are uncontrolled. The document also reported the components are imported to Iran from Turkey, India, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Costa Rica. [13]
In December 2022, the Biden administration publicly accused Iran and Russia of moving to cooperate in the construction of a drone manufacturing plant in Russia. [14] In June 2023, the White House released a U.S. intelligence report revealing Iran was supplying Russia with materials to construct the drone manufactory, predicting it would be fully operational by early 2024. [15] Photo and video evidence from Russian social media indicated Albatross commenced some reconnaissance drone production in January. [2] Albatross's co-founder, Ilya Voronkov, said in interviews that 70% of its drones' components are made in Russia, while other parts such as the engine are from China. The company's website advertises cameras, electronics, and other equipment from European, US, and Asian companies. [2]
In September 2023, during the seventy-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly, the United States directly accused Iran of both supplying Russia with drones during the invasion of Ukraine, and of assisting Russia with the development of a drone manufacturing plant. President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi denied sending drones for use in the invasion, responding, "We are against the war in Ukraine". [16] Iran had also said it provided drones to Russia only before the start of the war. [17] The Ukrainian report to G7, submitted in August 2023, further detailed the Iranian government was trying to "disassociate itself from providing Russia with weapons" and that "[Iran] cannot cope with Russian demand and the intensity of use in Ukraine." [13] US officials determined that Iran continues to supply the Russian military with suicide drones, having shipped hundreds by May 2023, shipping them from the Amirabad Special Economic Zone and Port, Iran to Makhachkala, Russia. [17]
In a 2 April 2024 offensive, the drone factory was struck by an improvised drone apparently adapted from a civilian light aircraft, likely an Aeroprakt A-22. Ukraine's military intelligence said the strike "caused significant destruction of production facilities". [1] Local governor Rustam Minnikhanov said the attack brought no serious damage or disruption to production. [18] [1] Russian media reported a nearby workers' dormitory was damaged, with 12 injured. [19] [20]
An unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), also known as a combat drone, fighter drone or battlefield UAV, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance and carries aircraft ordnance such as missiles, anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), and/or bombs in hardpoints for drone strikes. These drones are usually under real-time human control, with varying levels of autonomy. UCAVs are used for reconnaissance, attacking targets and returning to base; unlike kamikaze drones which are only made to explode on impact, or surveillance drones which are only for gathering intelligence.
Yelabuga is a town in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, located on the right bank of the Kama River and 200 kilometers (120 mi) east from Kazan. Population: 70,728 (2010 Russian census); 68,663 (2002 Census); 53,537 (1989 Soviet census).
The history of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) is closely tied to the general history of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). While the technology dates back at least as far as the 1940s, common usage in live operations came in the 2000s. UCAVs have now become an important part of modern warfare, including in the Syrian civil war, the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Relations between the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Persian Empire (Iran) officially commenced in 1521, with the Safavids in power. Past and present contact between Russia and Iran have long been complicatedly multi-faceted; often wavering between collaboration and rivalry. The two nations have a long history of geographic, economic, and socio-political interaction. Mutual relations have often been turbulent, and dormant at other times.
Alabuga is a special economic zone of an industrial and production type located in a 20 km² area in the Yelabuzhsky District of the Republic of Tatarstan in the Kama Innovative Territorial Production Cluster 10 km from Yelabuga, 25 km from Naberezhnye Chelny, 40 km from Nizhnekamsk and 210 km from the regional center — Kazan. The shareholders of the management company of the SEZ "Alabuga" are the Russian Federation through the JSC "Special Economic Zones" with 100% state participation.
The Shahed 129 is an Iranian single-engine medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) designed by Shahed Aviation Industries for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Shahed 129 is capable of combat and reconnaissance missions and has an endurance of 24 hours; it is similar in size, shape and role to the American MQ-1 Predator and is widely considered as one of the most capable drones in Iranian service.
Drone warfare is a form of aerial warfare or marine warfare using unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) or weaponized commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The United States, United Kingdom, Israel, China, South Korea, Iran, Iraq, Italy, France, India, Pakistan, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and Poland are known to have manufactured operational UCAVs as of 2019.
The Iran–Israel proxy conflict, also known as the Iran–Israel proxy war or Iran–Israel Cold War, is an ongoing proxy conflict between Iran and Israel. In the Israeli–Lebanese conflict, Iran has supported Lebanese Shia militias, most notably Hezbollah. In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iran has backed Palestinian groups such as Hamas. Israel has supported Iranian rebels, such as the People's Mujahedin of Iran, conducted airstrikes against Iranian allies in Syria and assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists. In 2018 Israeli forces directly attacked Iranian forces in Syria.
The Saegheh is an Iranian turbofan/piston-powered flying wing unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) produced by Shahed Aviation Industries. It is based on, but smaller than and substantially different from, a Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel UAV that was captured by Iran in 2011 and then reverse-engineered. It is one of two Iranian flying wing UAVs based on the RQ-170, along with the Shahed 171 Simorgh, a larger version.
A loitering munition, also known as a suicide drone, kamikaze drone, or exploding drone, is a kind of aerial weapon with a built-in warhead that is typically designed to loiter around a target area until a target is located, then attack the target by crashing into it. Loitering munitions enable faster reaction times against hidden targets that emerge for short periods without placing high-value platforms near the target area and also allow more selective targeting as the attack can be changed mid-flight or aborted.
The Bayraktar TB2 is a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations. It is manufactured by the Turkish company Baykar Makina Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., primarily for the Turkish Armed Forces. The aircraft are monitored and controlled by an aircrew in a ground control station, including weapons employment. The development of the UAV has been largely credited to Selçuk Bayraktar, a former MIT graduate student.
Amirabad Port or Amirabad Special Economic Zone And Port is the largest port on the Caspian Sea, and is located in the north of Behshahr County, next to the peninsula and the biosphere reserve of Miankaleh in Iran.
There have been attacks in mainland Russia as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022. The main targets have been the military, the arms industry and the oil industry. Many of the attacks have been drone strikes, firebombing, and rail sabotage. The Ukrainian intelligence services have acknowledged carrying out some of these attacks. Others have been carried out by anti-war activists in Russia. There has also been cross-border shelling, missile strikes and ground raids from Ukraine, mainly in the Belgorod, Kursk and Bryansk oblasts. Several times, Russian anti-Kremlin paramilitaries have launched incursions from Ukraine into Russia, captured border villages and battled the Russian military. While Ukraine has supported these ground incursions, it has denied direct involvement.
UCAV Punisher is a multifunctional unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), which was developed in 2016 by Ukrainian combat veterans. Since 2019, the system has been supplied to the Ukrainian Armed Forces partially funded by individuals. UCAV Punisher has been officially contracted by the Ukrainian Armed Forces from 18.08.2023.
The ZALA Lancet is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and loitering munition developed by the Russian company ZALA Aero Group for the Russian Armed Forces. It was first unveiled in June 2019 at the ARMY-2019 military expo in Moscow. It is a further development of the ZALA Kub-BLA loitering munition. Iran claimed in April 2024 that it has manufactured a domestic analogue of the drone.
The HESA Shahed 136, also known by its Russian designation Geran-2, is an Iranian-designed loitering munition, also referred to as a kamikaze drone or suicide drone, in the form of an autonomous pusher-propelled drone. It is designed and manufactured by the Iranian state-owned corporation HESA in association with Shahed Aviation Industries.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia and the surrounding region became the target of repeated Russian shelling and bombing as part of the southern Ukraine offensive from 27 February 2022 onwards. Thirty to forty percent of the infrastructure in the city has been destroyed.
Aerial warfare in the Russian invasion of Ukraine began at dawn of 24 February 2022, with infantry divisions and armored and air support in Eastern Ukraine, and dozens of missile attacks across Ukraine. The first fighting took place in Luhansk Oblast near the village of Milove on the border with Russia at 3:40 am Kyiv time. The main infantry and tank attacks were launched in four spearhead incursions, creating a northern front launched towards Kyiv, a southern front originating in Crimea, a south-eastern front launched at the cities of Luhansk and Donbas, and an eastern front. Dozens of missile strikes across Ukraine also reached as far west as Lviv. Drones have also been a critical part of the invasion, particularly in regards to combined arms warfare. Drones have additionally been employed by Russia in striking Ukrainian critical infrastructure, and have been used by Ukraine to strike military infrastructure in Russian territory.
Iran has supported Russia both diplomatically and militarily since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It has voted against United Nations resolutions condemning Russia and has regularly delivered loitering munitions, chiefly the Shahed 131 and Shahed 136, to the Russian military. Several countries have accused Iran of violating United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, which was adopted with full support of the sitting members in July 2015 and seeks to inspect the Iranian nuclear program in preparation for ending United Nations sanctions against Iran. Additionally, Ukraine and the United States, among others, have stated that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has had a presence in Russian-occupied Crimea for the purpose of operating Shahed drones in attacks against Ukrainian cities. Some of these IRGC personnel have reportedly been killed by Ukrainian military strikes against Russian-occupied territory; the Iranian involvement in Russia's invasion has negatively impacted Iran–Ukraine relations while intensifying existing tensions between Iran and the United States.
Shahed drones are unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) and loitering munitions developed by Iranian company Shahed Aviation Industries. The drones are made of commercial components.
По словам студентов, у всех, кто задействован в производстве «лодок» (напомним, так на особом языке особой экономической зоны называются дроны-камикадзе)...
Кроме того, учащимся нельзя разглашать информацию о производстве — такой пункт прописан в их договоре об обучении. За его нарушение студента могут обязать выплатить колледжу штраф в 1,5-2 млн рублей.
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