Russia is actively expanding the production and modernization of attack drones. Key areas include jet-powered UAVs, countermeasures against Ukrainian electronic warfare systems, mesh networking, and the use of artificial intelligence for automatic target guidance.
This is explained by Anton Zemlianyi, an expert at the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation, in an interview with Daria Shcherbakova on the BlueBird Tech YouTube channel.
According to Zemlianyi, Russia is focusing heavily on advancing drone technology. This includes not only modernizing existing UAVs but also developing new systems based on earlier versions.
“First and foremost, it’s drones. That is, drone technologies and the development of new drones based on the same Geran drones. This includes the development of jet-powered drones, improving their capabilities, and using technologies to counter Ukraine’s electronic warfare,” Anton Zemlianyi explained.
Russia is also developing the use of artificial intelligence in its unmanned systems. According to the expert, this includes automatic target acquisition and guidance.
At the same time, Russia is betting on the mass deployment of drones. Zemlianyi notes that production of Geran drones continues, but their effectiveness is declining somewhat due to the development of Ukrainian air defenses, the emergence of new layers of air defense, and interceptor drones.
This is why Russian engineers are seeking new approaches and increasing their use of jet-powered unmanned systems.
“They are trying to change their approach and are now increasing their use of jet-powered drones. This is an aspect that is particularly noticeable at the moment,” Zemlianyi noted.
Anton Zemlianyi adds that the jet-powered Geran is already a fundamentally different system, essentially combining the characteristics of a drone and a missile. He explained that Russia’s initial attempts to develop a jet-powered version of the drone were much simpler, essentially involving installing a jet engine on an airframe based on the Shahed. However, the Russians later moved on to more sophisticated designs.
“It has nothing visually in common with a classic Shahed-type drone, but it is nevertheless a continuation, or some kind of technological successor, to the first Russian drones,” the expert adds.
Another area of development in Russian UAVs, according to Zemlianyi, is communication systems. He says Russia is using mesh modems that enable drones to be controlled in real time over long distances.
Zemlianyi adds that Russia continues to expand its production capacity, including by expanding facilities and manufacturing space in Alabuga. Its goal is to increase the number of unmanned systems that can be used in the war against Ukraine.
More about Russia’s new technologies, the development of attack drones, AI, and efforts to counter Ukrainian air defenses, Anton Zemlianyi discussed in the full interview on the BlueBird Tech YouTube channel at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPx4oEK7TSU&t=677s .
