Russia’s Kalashnikov ramps up killer drone production

Moscow, Mar 12 (EFE).- The Kalashnikov consortium, the largest arms manufacturer in Russia, Wednesday announced a significant increase in the production of its enhanced-power explosives-laden suicide drones in 2025, following a tenfold boost in output last year.

“Kaláshnikov will significantly increase the production of high-power guided loitering munitions (ULM) KUB in 2025,” the arm’s maker said in a statement on its official portal.

The group said that in 2024, UBM production volumes increased 10-fold. “In the same year, Kalashnikov signed the first contract for the supply of KUB-E guided munitions abroad.”

Designed to target enemy armored vehicles using real-time coordinates, the Russian kamikaze drones drones can operate both solo and in swarms, day or night, and withstand wind speeds of up to 10 meters per second.

The group stressed their proven effectiveness “in the special military operation (Russian in Ukraine) and in the fighting in the border area of Kursk.”

Drones have become a pivotal weapon in the conflict, with both Ukraine and Russia heavily relying on them. Russia has stepped up its use of kamikaze drones in its war against Ukraine.

Drones have been a key factor in the conflict since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. However, their deployment has surged allegedly after Moscow got drones from Iran.

In October last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to establish 48 drone design and production centers across the country by 2030.

Putin said that the military would receive nearly 10 times more drones than in 2023, when about 140,000 drones were produced.

Russia’s Ministry of Finance has allocated 6 trillion rubles (about $62 billion) for the development of aerospace, naval, and electronic technologies over the next three years. EFE

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