Russia’s secret plan to supercharge kamikaze drone production – POLITICO

Moscow is moving to expand its capacity to make tens of thousands of the killer drones it deploys in attacks on Ukrainian cities, according to plans from a Russian state company obtained by POLITICO.

The expansion of state firm Rosatom’s Alabuga-Volokno factory in Russia’s Tatarstan region would allow Moscow to make an additional 500 tons of military-grade aerospace carbon fiber each year by 2029. The strong lightweight material is key to building the drone’s airframe.

The production increase would translate to an additional 28,000 weaponized drones every year, according to one expert estimate — a 78% increase in production of weapons like the one that struck a passenger train on the Polish border this month and others that have left scores of Ukrainian civilians dead. Ukraine estimates Russia can currently produce more than 36,000 kamikaze drones, known as “Gerans,” annually.