Russia Scales Up Drone Production Amid Loopholes in Global Sanctions

Russia is significantly increasing its production of UAVs, including the Supercam drones, according to a report by Molfar.

One of the main reasons for this expansion is gaps in international sanctions.. According to the publication, loopholes in sanctions enable Russian drone manufacturers like Supercam to acquire foreign components through a network of shell companies. This allows them to scale production to meet the needs of the Russian army despite international restrictions.

“In many countries that claim to have imposed sanctions, only company names are used instead of unique identifiers, such as tax identification numbers,” Molfar wrote.

For instance, the Russian conglomerate Unmanned Systems, which produces these drones, evades sanctions by operating under different names and creating shell companies.

Additionally, there have been cases where company executives avoided sanctions due to “errors” in their personal data. This includes the chief designer of Alabuga, whose date of birth was recorded incorrectly.

For example, SkyTorez, the Belarusian affiliate of Supercam, has yet to face sanctions, despite its drones being used to monitor areas in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions.

“To counteract this, it is essential to improve sanction mechanisms by implementing the use of tax identification numbers for accurate identification, synchronizing sanction lists between countries, and imposing sanctions on affiliated entities and individuals. These measures would make it more difficult to evade restrictions and increase international pressure on Russia’s defense industry,” the outlet concluded.

On January 10, the Biden administration unveiled its most extensive sanctions package to date, targeting Russia’s energy sector. Officials said these measures could cost its economy billions of dollars per month.