Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to increase this year’s production of drones being used in the invasion of Ukraine to 1.4 million, about 10 times last year’s output.
Putin delivered a speech at a meeting of the military-industrial commission on Thursday, after visiting a development and production facility for unmanned aerial vehicles in St. Petersburg.
Addressing senior officials from the defense industry, Putin said about 140,000 UAVs of various types were delivered to the armed forces in 2023.
He added, “This year, the production of UAVs is to be increased many-fold — specifically, almost tenfold.”
Putin stressed their importance in the military invasion of Ukraine, saying that drones of various classes have become an integral part of modern warfare.
He also said, “Unmanned systems can be effectively used for various purposes on the battlefield, as the special military operation has confirmed.”
Putin also mentioned the necessity to improve UAV’s combat performance, including through the use of artificial intelligence.
He also said efforts should be made to constantly modernize drones based on combat experience.
To accelerate the development and manufacturing of drones, he plans to establish 48 special research and production centers across the country by 2030.