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Yelabuga drone factory

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The Yelabuga drone factory is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV or drone) factory in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, near Yelabuga, Repbulic of Tatarstan, Russia, operated by the Russian company Albatross. It develops drones for military use in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and is largely staffed by college students, including minors.

Drone factory
Manufactory
OwnerRussian Federation
LocationAlabuga Special Economic Zone, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia
Map

Overview edit

The manufacturing plant develops Shahed-style unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs)[2] and "Albatross" reconnaissance drones.[3] It is located in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, near Yelabuga, Repbulic of Tatarstan, Russia, more than 1,300km from the Ukraine-Russia border.[2] Within the Special Economic Zone, the drones are reportedly referred to as "boats" (Russian: лодок).[4] It was built near the Kama River, allowing direct transportation via ship directly from Iran through the Caspian Sea,[5][3] The plant was built with materials provided by Iran.[6] The plant is operated by Albatross, a Russian company that previously made agricultural technologies,[3] and now produces drones for use in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[6] Albatross has developed long-range reconnaissance drones for use in the war, called "Albatross" or "Albatros M5" drones.[3][7] Before and during the plant's development, Iran supplied UCAVs for Russia to use in the invasion of Ukraine.[8][9][10] The factory opened in July 2023.[3]

In July 2023, an investigation revealed the factory recruits students of Alabuga Polytech, a branch of the Yelabuga Polytechnic College, as workers, some as young as 15. As of August 2023, the factory had several hundred students employed.[11] The students were promised a job and locally competitive salary of up to 70,000 rubles (US$700) per month as part of a work experience program. Instead, students enrolled were encouraged, and in some cases pressured, into working at the drone facility where their salaries are contingent on meeting production quotas, sometimes working 15 hours shifts without overtime pay, and "often without proper breaks or meals, and under hostile conditions that have deeply affected their mental health".[11] School staff instructed students not to tell their parents about the drone assembly work,[11] or they would be fined 1.5 million to 2 million rubles, per their employment contract with Alabuga Polytech.[12]

Russia intends to build 6,000 UCAVs by summer 2025[13] at a rate of 310 drones per month, operating the factory 24 hours a day.[5] It predicts the cost of production of one Geran-2 will be US$48,000, or 25% of the cost to purchase.[5]

History edit

Shahed drones were previously built by Shahed Aviation Industries in Iran, where, allegedly, every drone manufactory has two backup sites in the event of an aerial attack at one site.[5] According to a document submitted by Ukraine to the G7, Shahed drones are built with commercially available parts sold by companies headquartered in the United States, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Japan, and Poland.[14] The document suggested there is no deliberate wrongdoing on the part of the companies, and that, due to the commercial availability of the parts, the parts are simply poorly regulated or are uncontrolled. The document also reported the components are imported to Iran from Turkey, India, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Costa Rica.[14]

In December 2022, the Biden administration publicly accused Iran and Russia of moving to cooperate in the construction of a drone manufacturing plant in Russia.[15] In June 2023, the White House released a U.S. intelligence report revealing Iran was supplying Russia with materials to construct the drone manufactory, predicting it would be fully operational by early 2024.[16] Photo and video evidence from Russian social media indicated Albatross commenced some reconnaissance drone production in January.[3] Albatross's co-founder, Ilya Voronkov, said in interviews that 70% of its drones' components are made in Russia, while other parts such as the engine are from China. The company's website advertises cameras, electronics, and other equipment from European, US, and Asian companies.[3]

In September 2023, during the seventy-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly, the United States directly accused Iran of both supplying Russia with drones during the invasion of Ukraine, and of assisting Russia with the development of a drone manufacturing plant. President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi denied sending drones for use in the invasion, responding, "We are against the war in Ukraine".[17] Iran had also said it provided drones to Russia only before the start of the war.[18] The Ukrainian report to G7, submitted in August 2023, further detailed the Iranian government was trying to "disassociate itself from providing Russia with weapons" and that "[Iran] cannot cope with Russian demand and the intensity of use in Ukraine."[14] US officials determined that Iran continues to supply the Russian military with suicide drones, having shipped hundreds by May 2023, shipping them from the Amirabad Special Economic Zone and Port, Iran to Makhachkala, Russia.[18]

In a 2 April 2024 offensive, the drone factory was struck by an improvised drone apparently adapted from a civilian light aircraft, likely an Aeroprakt A-22. Ukraine's military intelligence said the strike "caused significant destruction of production facilities".[2] Local governor Rustam Minnikhanov said the attack brought no serious damage or disruption to production.[19][2] Russian media reported a nearby workers' dormitory was damaged, with 12 injured.[20][21]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Albright, David; Burkhard, Sarah (13 November 2023). "Visible Progress at Russia's Shahed Drone Production Site | Institute for Science and International Security". isis-online.org. Institute for Science and International Security. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Gozzi, Laura (2 April 2024). "Ukraine war: Deepest Ukraine drone attack into Russian territory injures 12". BBC. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Cook, Chris; Seddon, Max; Stognei, Anastasia; Schwartz, Felicia (6 July 2023). "Russia deploys 'Albatross' made in Iran-backed drone factory". www.ft.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Алабуга. Производство смерти руками студентов". Протокол (in Russian). 24 July 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2024. По словам студентов, у всех, кто задействован в производстве «лодок» (напомним, так на особом языке особой экономической зоны называются дроны-камикадзе)...
  5. ^ a b c d Yaron, Oded (21 February 2024). "Gold for drones: Massive leak reveals the Iranian Shahed project in Russia". Haaretz. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  6. ^ a b "White House says Iran is helping Russia build a drone factory east of Moscow for the war in Ukraine". Sun Sentinel. 9 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  7. ^ Nikolov, Boyko (7 July 2023). "Official: No longer a rumor Iran is producing UAVs in Russia". Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  8. ^ Warrick, Joby (9 June 2023). "Iran seeks 'billions' worth of Russian aircraft and weapons in exchange for drones, U.S. says". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  9. ^ Barnes, Julian E.; Koettl, Christoph (9 June 2023). "A drone factory that Iran is helping Russia build could be operational next year, the U.S. says". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  10. ^ Holland, Jeff Mason and Steve (10 June 2023). "Iranians suspected to be helping Russia build a drone factory for use in war on Ukraine". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  11. ^ a b c "A Russian Factory Is Using Underage Workers To Assemble Iranian 'Suicide' Drones Destined For Ukraine". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 13 August 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  12. ^ "«Протокол» и «РЗВРТ»: несовершеннолетних студентов колледжа в Татарстане массово привлекают к сборке дронов «Шахед»". Медиазона (in Russian). Retrieved 23 April 2024. Кроме того, учащимся нельзя разглашать информацию о производстве — такой пункт прописан в их договоре об обучении. За его нарушение студента могут обязать выплатить колледжу штраф в 1,5-2 млн рублей.
  13. ^ "Ukraine war latest: Ukraine hits drone factory, oil refinery deep inside Russia". The Kyiv Independent. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  14. ^ a b c Boffey, Daniel (27 September 2023). "Revealed: Europe's role in the making of Russia killer drones". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  15. ^ Madhani, Aamer; Lederer, Edith M.; Miller, Zeke (9 December 2022). "US: Russia, Iran moving toward full defense 'partnership'". AP News. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  16. ^ Madhani, Aamer (9 June 2023). "White House says Iran is helping Russia build a drone factory east of Moscow for the war in Ukraine". AP News. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  17. ^ Haven, Paul (18 September 2023). "Iran's president denies sending drones and other weapons to Russia and decries US meddling". AP News. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  18. ^ a b "Iran helping Russia build drone factory near Moscow for Ukraine war: White House". Alarabiya News. 9 June 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  19. ^ Roth, Andrew (2 April 2024). "Ukrainian drone attacks target oil refinery and factory deep inside Russia". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  20. ^ Service, RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir. "Missiles Hit Ukraine's Dnipro After Drone Attack On Industrial Targets Deep Inside Russia". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  21. ^ Newdick, Thomas (2 April 2024). "Russia's Shahed-136 Factory Attacked By Light Plane Converted Into A Drone". The War Zone. Retrieved 2 April 2024.


 

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