Russia plans to produce 2 million first-person-view (FPV) drones and 30,000 long-range and decoy drones in 2025 for its war against Ukraine, Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU) spokesperson Oleh Aleksandrov told Politico on June 5.
The ramp-up marks a critical expansion of Moscow's drone warfare program, as both Ukraine and Russia increasingly rely on unmanned systems for reconnaissance and front-line attacks.
According to Aleksandrov, Russia's drone production is heavily dependent on Chinese components. Despite Beijing's public denials, Chinese manufacturers continue to supply Russia with key electronics and technologies.
"They use so-called shell companies, change names, do everything to avoid being subject to export control and avoid sanctions for their activities," Aleksandrov said.
The intelligence official warned that this industrial support allows Moscow to narrow Ukraine's early advantage in drone innovation.
"They aim to produce about 30,000 long-range drones of those types plus 30,000 false target drones they use to exhaust Ukrainian air defenses in 2025," he added. "As for the FPV drones, Russians are aiming to produce a whopping 2 million of them in 2025."
FPV drones, small and agile devices often equipped with explosive payloads, have proven highly effective in damaging tanks, artillery, and other high-value targets at low cost.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this year that Moscow is working to manufacture up to 500 long-range drones per day, Suspilne reported.
The Kremlin's nightly drone attacks — frequently involving Iranian-designed Shahed-type drones — have strained Ukraine's air defenses and inflicted heavy damage on cities and infrastructure.
Ukraine, for its part, has dramatically scaled up domestic drone production in response.
The Strategic Industries Ministry reported that Ukraine more than doubled its long-range drone output in 2024 compared to 2023 — a 22-fold increase over 2022.
Olena Goncharova
(Updated: )
