Russia’s New Drone Base Could Launch Over 100 Jet-Powered Drones Daily, Expert Warns

Russia has nearly completed a major new base for launching jet-powered attack drones near Ukraine after just six weeks of construction, according to Reuters on October 15.

Satellite imagery from Planet Labs and Airbus, reviewed by Reuters, shows the facility in Russia’s Rostov region expanding from an empty field on August 31 into a complex covering approximately 0.9 square kilometers, equivalent to roughly 126 soccer fields.

According to the Reuters investigation, DroneSec founder Mike Monnik assessed that the facility could launch Russia’s newer Geran-4 and Geran-5 jet-powered drones.

Satellite images reveal eight launch platforms on the western side, with rails installed on two and construction continuing on others. Monnik estimated that the base could potentially launch 100 or more jet-powered drones within 24 hours, depending on operational requirements and available weapons.

“The speed of construction … demonstrates the ease with which Russia can bring now-established offensive capabilities to bear rapidly,” Monnik stated, as quoted by Reuters. He assessed that the facility could become fully operational within weeks, if not sooner.

The installation is located approximately 3.5 kilometers from Russia’s Millerovo air base, which hosts the 31st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. DroneSec assessed that the new facility likely benefits from the air defense systems protecting the military airfield, potentially complicating Ukrainian efforts to strike it, Reuters reported.

Russia increased its deployment of jet-powered drones roughly sixfold during a three-month period this summer, according to Ukrainian military data previously examined by Reuters. These drones can reach speeds of up to 600 kilometers per hour, making them substantially harder for Ukrainian interceptor drones to engage.

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War in Ukraine

Why Russia’s New Jet-Powered Drones Are Harder to Stop

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Drone infrastructure around Millerovo has already drawn repeated Ukrainian strikes.

On August 30, Ukrainian forces hit a facility in the area used to store, prepare and launch Russian attack drones, roughly 170 kilometers from the front line.

The overnight strike sparked a fire and coincided with an attack on the Yeysk military airfield in Krasnodar Krai. Earlier, Ukrainian drones targeted a Nebo-U radar station at the Millerovo airfield, a site used to launch Shahed drones and other UAVs against Ukraine.

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