Russian Alabuga Plant Expands Drone Production With Chinese Parts and Teenage Labor

Russia’s Alabuga Special Economic Zone has rapidly expanded its production of drones, including Shahed-136 and decoy Gerbera drones, amid mounting sanctions and workforce shortages, CNN reported on December 27.

The production reliance on Chinese components and a growing pool of underage Russian teenagers and foreign women workers.

Alabuga, located about 600 miles east of Moscow, was initially designed to attract Western companies but shifted to military production after several key tenants left following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Now the hub of Russia’s drone manufacturing, Alabuga has produced 5,760 Shahed drones in the first nine months of 2024—more than double the 2,738 it made in 2023, according to Ukrainian Defense Intelligence.

The Gerbera decoy drones, based on a Chinese prototype by Skywalker Technology, are also being manufactured at scale. These low-cost drones, made of foam and plywood, mimic the Shahed’s shape but are far cheaper to produce. Russia plans to produce 10,000 Gerberas by the end of 2024, nearly double its Shahed output.

To sustain this production, Alabuga has relied heavily on Chinese support. Between September 2023 and June 2024, 34 Chinese companies signed contracts worth over $96 million to provide parts, materials, and production equipment, according to Ukrainian intelligence. Skywalker Technology supplied kits to assemble the Gerbera drones, with contracts for up to 10,000 units.

With heavy casualties on the battlefield and an exodus of working-age men, Alabuga faces a severe labor shortage. The factory has turned to underage students from Alabuga Polytechnic, a technical school established on-site, and foreign recruits—primarily young women from African countries.

Through the ‘Alabuga Start’ program, the factory advertises high salaries, career growth, and futuristic facilities. For Russian men, the program offers the added benefit of avoiding conscription. Videos promoting the initiative depict young African women assembling drones and finding life-changing opportunities, including starting families in Russia.

Other videos shared on Alabuga Polytechnic’s TikTok and Telegram accounts show off high-tech laboratories, brand-new dormitories, and a team-building exercise described as “the biggest military-patriotic paintball tournament in Russia,” where students reenact WWII battles.

While specialists are promised salaries up to 360,000 rubles ($3,480) per month—four times the average Russian wage—students and migrant workers are offered starting pay of about 85,000 rubles ($820).

Earlier, a massive fire broke out in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Russia, engulfing a warehouse storing critical components for Shahed-136 drones, widely used by Russia in its attacks on Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate reported that the warehouse housed 65 drone fuselages, engines, navigation systems, and thermal imaging cameras, enough to produce 400 Shahed-136 drones. The blaze destroyed all the equipment.