Russia continues to rapidly ramp up drone production, while growth in other sectors of the defense industry is gradually slowing down. Drones are becoming one of the main areas of focus for the russian military-industrial complex.
This is reported by Bloomberg.
According to data from the Federal State Statistics Service of the russian federation, in April 2026, production of drones and related aviation systems increased by 117% compared to the same period last year. On average throughout 2025, this figure grew by 68% year-over-year.
The agency notes that such growth rates indicate moscow’s ability to adapt its military economy to a protracted war against Ukraine. At the same time, production of tanks and other armored vehicles is already approaching its capacity limits, while the drone sector continues to expand rapidly.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, russia plans to manufacture 7.3 million FPV drones and 7.8 million combat units for various types of drones in 2026. By comparison, over the entire period of the full-scale war, the russian army has received only 64 Su-34 and Su-35 tactical aircraft and 12 Su-27 fighters.
Douglas Barrie, a senior research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, noted that long-range drones have allowed russia to supplement its limited arsenal of cruise missiles and sustain strikes on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.
The expert also emphasized that drones are significantly cheaper than traditional weapons, require fewer resources to produce, and are easily scalable—from small workshops to large enterprises operating under government contracts.
For his part, Rob Lee, a senior research fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, believes that Ukraine still holds an advantage in a number of technological developments in the UAV sector. At the same time, Russia has learned to quickly copy new solutions and launch them into mass production.
According to him, the expansion of specialized drone operator units and the adoption of new tactics have helped the russian army close the gap in the use of unmanned systems. However, this has not yet led to a decisive change in the situation on the battlefield.
Despite the kremlin’s plans to cut military spending, drone production remains one of the few sectors of russia’s defense industry that continues to demonstrate record growth rates.
As a reminder, Trump asked Xi Jinping to influence putin to end the war in Ukraine.
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