How the Martyr Drone Factory Is Where Ukraine Launched Its Deepest Attack on Russian Territory

Ukrainian drone attack in central Russian region Tatarstan This Tuesday Yelabuga hit a building in a business park in the city and an oil refinery kazanThe common border between the two countries is about 1,100 kilometers away.

attack, which More than a dozen people injured This would be one of the longest ranges carried out by Kiev forces with drones since fighting began in February 2022.

Defense sources in Kiev announced this AFP Ukraine was behind the attacks, which they say affected Shaheed Explosive Drone Assembly Facility Iranian design that has been a topic of conversation among military observers for several months.

was part of the factory Russia’s billion dollar arms deal with Iran Which was released in November 2022. It was estimated that the facility would be responsible for the production of 6,000 Sahedas. By the summer of 2025, this is enough to alleviate the Russian military’s chronic shortage of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs in English) on the front line.

Russia to set up Tatarstan assembly plant in April 2023However, the manufacturing effort initially used exclusively Iranian components. according to him Institute for Science and International SecurityLocated in Washington, the Russian plant was in August of the same year “Re-assembled drones supplied by Iran And Manufactured drone body onlyAnd probably not for devices over 300″.

However, neither Russian nor Iranian officials said anything about the factory and its The activity was shrouded in secrecy: Only satellite images were seen which showed that construction at the plant “directly” coincides with the leaked plan of the structure Washington Post Awarded earlier that year.

By early March, a Video showing the assembly line of the plant With claims that drones are being mass produced Shahid Of Iranian origin to launch them against Ukraine.

17 sec long video, The attack on the factory established in Yelabuga is shown allegedly on this Tuesday.,

Images and visible assembly lines appear to indicate that Russia is focusing on mass production of Shaheed-136Which has a strike range of more than 1,000 kilometers and can attack deep behind the front line.

In the video you can identify several specimens of Iranian martyr-136who wear Russian name “Geran” in Cyrillic on the wings.

These are unmanned aircraft vertical stabilizers They extend above and below the wingtips and are generally larger than the Shaheed-131, another version of the drone in which the stabilizers do not extend below the wingtips. Both types, coming from Iranian production lines, Has been used by Russia in its Ukrainian WarBut Moscow’s production efforts currently appear to be focused on the larger and longer-range Shahid-136.

Obviously, The drones seen in the video and photos are still in the assembly stageWithout its propulsion or avionics units.

This is also shown in the video Two different colors of drone fuselage, some in light brown and others in dark charcoal-grey tones. The latter will also be seen on Iranian-made Shahedes. Version optimized for night operationsAccording to sites specializing in weapons.

According to military experts john hardyRussian “night shades” may also use some type of anti-radar materials or coatings to help avoid radar.

There has been another improvement in Russian production structure in composite materials Which probably helps in mass production.

With regard to production cost it is assumed that The unit cost of the Russian-made Shahed will start at around $50,000., with the possibility that the price will drop significantly over time. Nevertheless, the starting figure is equivalent to the very high cost of acquiring ballistic or cruise missiles that could be used to attack Ukrainian targets.

Russian plant’s production capacity a subject of controversy, While Ukrainian intelligence has said that Russia could produce between 300 and 350 Martyrs per month, which is in line with the volume of attacks observed, some pro-Russian military bloggers believe production will soon reach 350 per month. Will increase between 1,500 and 2,000 units.

Some military experts claim that martyr bodies are the easiest to mass produce. However, everything else is also included engine And this electronicsis more complex and difficult to achieve, especially because Russia remains under international sanctions.

And the Martyr, like many other Russian weapons, is heavily dependent on foreign electronic components.

Nevertheless, Ukrainian sources recently reported that The factory will be completely converted to Russian components Sometime next year.

Despite the problems, according to the 2023 reportLWashington Post“An expanded new drone factory could help Russia shore up its dwindling supply of precision weapons, thwart Ukraine’s efforts to take back occupied territories and dramatically advance Moscow’s position in the drone arms race. which is reconstructing modern warfare.

perhaps this is what created the danger Ukraine’s decision to attack this major factory, According to the press service of the Tatar leader Rustam MinnikhanovHowever, the strikes “did not cause serious damage nor did they affect the work of the factories.”

The truth is that, even before the possibility of a large number of Martyr-type drones leaving the Russian production line, Moscow’s use of Iranian-designed drones has caused widespread destruction across much of Ukraine.

Russian drones have attacked both civilians and critical energy infrastructure. Drones have also been used to disrupt Kiev’s efforts to export grain, including attacks on Ukrainian ports on the Danube River.

At the same time, Kiev did not stand down. In contrast, it has recently developed drones that can fly more than 1,000 kilometers, according to the German newspaper jumping hives Ukraine’s Digital Affairs Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who is involved in the country’s drone program, said in an interview published Monday.