Latest news with #Shahed136
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Russia launches record attacks on Ukraine as country struggles to defend itself
Night by night, the blitz develops. Russian drones, decoys, cruise and ballistic missiles – increasingly aimed at a single city or location – are being launched in record numbers into Ukraine, straining the country's ability to defend itself and raising questions about how well it can endure another winter of war. One day earlier this month, 728 drones and 13 missiles were launched, mostly at the western city of Lutsk, home to many Ukrainian airfields. Large salvoes now come more frequently: every three to five days, rather than every 10 to 12, and civilian casualties are rising: 232 people were killed in June, the highest monthly level for three years. A 1,000-drone attack is anticipated shortly and last weekend a German army major general, Christian Freuding, predicted that the Kremlin's ambition was to attack Ukraine with '2,000 drones simultaneously'. Production of drones and missiles has improved, as have Russian tactics. Not only are the drones unleashed in larger swarms, with dozens of decoys included, but they are also being flown either much lower or at much higher altitudes, sometimes in a stack to fool the defenders before swooping down steeply to their target. The additional height takes them beyond the range of mobile Ukrainian gunners, whose job has been to shoot them down, relatively cheaply. Analyses of Ukrainian air force data show that more drones are getting through: from close to 5% in March and April to between 15% and 20% in May and June. Russia is also using its Shahed drones more intelligently, analysts say, to open a path for faster and more dangerous cruise and ballistic missiles because the 50kg (110lb) explosive normally carried by a Shahed only does a relatively limited amount of damage. Designed in Iran, the delta-winged Shahed 136, or the Russian Geran-2s, are now made in Russia. At least two factories have been identified, one in Izhevsk, and most notably in Yelabuga, more than 700 miles from Ukraine. The modern-looking assembly line was shown off on Russian television a few days ago, with dozens of distinctive fibreglass and carbon-fibre frames positioned to sinister effect in the background. 'The Shahed problem has been foreseeable for some time. Russia has been asking itself: 'What will be the T-34 of this war?'' said Jack Watling, a military expert with the Royal United Services Institute thinktank, referring to the tank that is considered by some to have helped the Soviets defeat the Nazis in the second world war. Watling said the issue uppermost in the minds of Russian planners was: 'What is the technology that we can invest in that is good and cheap enough and delivers decisive results?' Two of these are Shahed drones and Iskander missiles in which, he said, Russia has invested heavily in trying to deliver a long-term military-industrial victory. In the Russian video of the Yelabuga plant, the narrator says that teenagers as young as 15 are invited to work at the factory, coming from a nearby technical college, such has been the Kremlin's focus on trying to keep costs down. The Russian version of the Shahed 136 is cheap, costing roughly between $50,000 (£37,000) to $100,000 each, according to Samuel Bendett, a drone expert with the Centre for Naval Analyses thinktank. At the same time, component and manufacturing equipment supply for Shaheds has improved. 'China is more directly providing components to Russia,' said Kateryna Stepanenko, from the Institute of the Study of War, likely aided by a direct rail link to China near Yelabuga. 'Integration of Chinese components, where before there was supply from Iran, means the manufacturers now have a lot more available parts,' she said. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion In Ukraine, there is nervousness. Concern about the available air defence has prompted renewed public lobbying from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for US Patriot air defence systems, and a promise from Germany to pay for five more. But Patriots are only cost-effectively used against cruise and ballistic missiles, not Shaheds, because the modern PAC-3 interceptor missiles cost about $4m each. There has been a sustained effort in developing cheap drones to knock out the Shaheds, although details about the counter-drone efforts remain relatively scarce online, partly because the effort is concealed by operational security. A prominent Ukrainian fundraiser, Serhii Sternenko, said a fortnight ago that more than 100 air targets had been shot down as part of his foundation's 'Shahedoriz' project. That suggests modest progress. Watling argues the problem at the moment is that 'the technology exists but they have not scaled production of them yet'. That may be solved by a partnership announced by Zelenskyy with Google's former CEO Eric Schmidt earlier this month to produce 'interceptor drones', though again details are scant. At the same time, in the last month Ukrainian officials have been trying to restart efforts to lobby European powers to police the skies over the west of the country. One initiative, Sky Shield, proposed in March, suggested that 120 fighter jets could effectively engage in defensive air policing west of the Dnipro River – but this idea was only deemed practical after a ceasefire that Russia has refused to agree to. Though air policing has formed part of plans for a post-conflict 'reassurance force' led by the UK and France, there has so far been no appetite for western nations to step forward and protect Ukrainian airspace for fears it would lead to a direct conflict between a Nato country and Russia. 'It's so frustrating: countries send people to fight in Afghanistan for how long to defend from what – but nobody wants to help Ukraine better defend its skies,' said one source involved in the renewed effort. While there is not much confidence in diplomacy, the balance in the battle of the skies has tipped towards Russia. That could become more ominous if, in the coming weeks, Moscow makes a determined effort to target Ukraine's electricity grid and utility networks before winter. For now, the heightened level of missile and drone attacks demonstrates that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, 'remains committed to his goals to have Ukraine surrender and capitulate', said Stepanenko, from the Institute of the Study of War. 'This war is certainly not a stalemate.'
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Russian Drone Made Completely Of Chinese Components: Ukrainian Intelligence
Russia is now using decoy drones with 100% of its components made in China, Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR) claimed on Tuesday. While Russian weapons have long contained parts from China as well as many other nations, this marks likely the first time one of its drones is completely made up of Chinese parts. The discovery is additional proof of Beijing's growing support for Moscow's war in Ukraine. The drone in question is a new decoy Russia is using to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses, according to GUR. The delta-winged weapon loosely resembles the infamous Shahed-136 drone, but is much smaller, according to GUR. In addition to serving as a decoy, this drone may also pack a warhead weighing up to 15 kilos (about 33 pounds). As we reported yesterday, Russia is already overwhelming Ukrainian air defenses with more drones and improved tactics. 'All components and blocks [in the new drones] are of Chinese origin,' according to GUR's War&Sanctions project, which maintains a database of thousands of foreign components found in Russian weapons. ❗ GUR publishes components of a new Russian UAV used as a decoy and reconnaissance, it can also carry a warhead weighing up to 15 kg. ▪ All components and blocks are of Chinese origin. ▪ The UAV is also equipped with a Chinese copy of Australian RFD900x data transmission… — MAKS 25 ���� �� (@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) July 22, 2025 GUR recovered at least two of these drones, the second of which contained two components of unknown origin. Nearly half of the parts in the first drone come from one company, CUAV Technology. Those parts include a flight controller with an autopilot, navigation modules and antennas, and an airspeed sensor with a pilot tube, GUR stated. The company is 'a National High-Tech Enterprise and Guangdong Provincial Specialized, Refined, Unique, and Innovative Enterprise specializing in open-source unmanned systems technology,' according to the CUAV Technology Co. website. 'It integrates R&D, production, and sales.' The discovery of these CUAV Technology Co. components came even though the company announced restrictions on the supply of products to Ukraine and Russia in October 2022. The stated goal was to prevent their use for military purposes, GUR noted. 'However, in 2023, the Russian Federation presented a vertical take-off UAV of allegedly its own design, which turned out to be a CUAV Technology product available on AliExpress,' GUR added. The new Russian decoy drone is different because instead of being an off-the-shelf purchase, it represents a new method of indigenous production. The War Zone cannot independently verify these claims. We've reached out to CUAV Technology Co. and GUR for more details and will update this story with any pertinent information provided. Some of the Chinese components found in a new Russian decoy drone. (GUR) GUR's findings about the new Russian decoy drone come as Moscow is increasingly relying on Beijing to provide technology for its drones, especially artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). Last month, GUR found that a Russian V2U barrage drone used in the Sumy region could autonomously search and select targets using AI. The V2U relied on the Chinese Leetop A203 minicomputer and a central processor with an American NVIDIA Jetson Orin module. We first wrote about how AI would make drones even deadlier last year, which you can read about here. Russia is also relying on China to help extend the range of its fiber-optic controlled drones by providing spools allowing those weapons to reach as far as 50km (about 31 miles). The increased reach gives the Russians a big advantage for a system that is already creating havoc for Ukrainian forces. Fiber optics are used by both sides because it makes drones impervious to jamming and other forms of electronic warfare and helps mitigate the effects of terrain that can also interfere with radio control. Chinese working on Russian drones say they now have 50km fiber optic cables. Ukraine is fighting every enemy of western civilization while the US is increasingly on the side of the bad guys. — Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) June 5, 2025 This new decoy drone is one of many Russian weapons relying on foreign parts. However, previous recoveries by GUR show a wider range of origin for components. For instance, a Russian Shahed-136 strike drone GUR obtained contained dozens of components from the U.S. as well as parts from Iran, Taiwan and other nations. Last year, we noted that GUR found dozens of foreign components in a Russian S-70 Okhotnik-B (Hunter-B) flying wing unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) downed in a case of friendly fire. S-70 Okhotnik-B (Hunter-B) flying wing unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV). Russian MOD Screenshot/via Other Russian weapons, like the Banderol S-8000 cruise missile, contain parts from Switzerland, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea as well as the U.S. and China, according to the GUR database. In the very early days of the all-out invasion, GUR shared with us a list of several weapons packed with foreign chips. They were found inside a recovered example of the 9S932-1, a radar-equipped air defense command post vehicle that is part of the larger Barnaul-T system, a Pantsir air defense system, a Ka-52 'Alligator' attack helicopter, and a Kh-101 (AS-23A Kodiak) cruise missile. These parts all found their way into Russian weapons despite international sanctions designed to prevent that from happening. Beyond components, China appears to have provided Russia with at least some complete weapons systems. In May, we reported that Russia was using a new Chinese laser system to shoot down Ukrainian drones. The system seen in a video posted to Telegram appeared to be at least extremely similar to a system Beijing has apparently already provided to Iran, which you can read more about here. However, it remains unclear how widely this system is being fielded by Russia. You can see images and video of those systems below. While the sensor arrangement seems to have been altered, the system observed in Russian service strongly resembles the Chinese Shen Nung 3000/5000 anti-drone laser. — Fabian Hinz (@fab_hinz) May 31, 2025 Russia's growing reliance on China for technology comes as the two nations are drawing closer in what can be described as a relationship of convenience to challenge the U.S. and its allies. Officially, China has expressed neutrality in this conflict; however, its actions say otherwise. Earlier this month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the European Union's top diplomat that Beijing can't accept Russia losing its war against Ukraine because it could allow the U.S. to turn its full attention to China, CNN reported. The network cited an official briefed on the talks. The Chinese foreign minister's admission came during what the official said was 'a four-hour meeting with EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas' in Brussels that 'featured tough but respectful exchanges, covering a broad range of issues from cyber security, rare earths to trade imbalances, Taiwan and Middle East.' The official said Wang's private remarks suggested Beijing 'might prefer a protracted war in Ukraine that keeps the United States from focusing on its rivalry with China,' CNN added. 'Wang's comments echo concerns of critics of China's policy that Beijing has geopolitically much more at stake in the Ukrainian conflict than its admitted position of neutrality.' China's assistance to Russia differs from what North Korea is providing in terms of missiles, artillery, millions of rounds of shells and more than 11,000 troops fighting against Ukraine. However, the electronics flowing from China are critical to Russia's military-industrial complex. Given that Russia has had time to shift its supply chain to Chinese sources while simultaneously spinning up its economy into a wartime configuration, it is likely we will see many more of these components installed throughout Moscow's arsenal. Contact the author: howard@
Daily Mail
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Putin's 'dark destroyer' factory: Inside 'world's biggest drone plant' in Russia where army of teens make kamikaze killing machines to unleash on Ukraine
Russia has revealed what it claims is the largest drone production facility in the world. Located in a highly secretive complex in Yelabuga, Tatarstan, it employs teenagers to help build lethal kamikaze drones used in strikes on Ukraine. Footage broadcast by the Russian military's Zvezda TV channel shows rows of Gen-2 drones lined up inside the plant, ready to be deployed. The unnamed aerial vehicles are Russian-made versions of Iran 's Shahed-136 and have been used in deadly attacks on Ukrainian cities. Their black matte paint is designed to reduce visibility during night-time missions and evade air defence detection. The Alabuga plant is more than 1,000 kilometres from Ukraine's border and is part of a state-run special economic zone. Its director has boasted that production has exceeded expectations. Some reports suggest up to 18,000 units were built in the first half of 2025 alone. It's been reported that teenage students from the nearby Alabuga Polytechnic College are being trained in weapons manufacturing from the age of 14 or 15. Once they complete their education, many transition directly to the factory floor to join the assembly line. Footage shows these teenagers working on components, programming drones, and carrying out testing tasks, their faces blurred to conceal identities. Critics say this represents a dangerous militarisation of education, where children are being groomed into the defence industry and made to contribute directly to a brutal war. Reports from Russian media and leaked testimonies reveal that students are subjected to long working hours, sometimes without breaks, and are paid modest wages of about $335 to $445 per month. Contracts ban them from speaking about their work and impose severe financial penalties of up to $22,000 for violations. Families who resist or refuse participation can be forced to repay thousands of dollars in training costs, with surveillance reportedly used to enforce compliance. The drones produced at Alabuga have a range of up to 1,800 kilometres and are equipped with warheads capable of inflicting widespread destruction. Although Russia insists its drone strikes only target military sites, Ukraine and international observers accuse Moscow of using them to terrorise civilians. Kyiv has repeatedly reported drone attacks on residential areas, including the capital, where people take cover in underground shelters during nightly bombardments. The factory has also been linked to high-profile drone launches using repurposed American pickup trucks, which have been filmed carrying and firing the Geran-2. Russian state media showcased this as part of a broader campaign to boost public support for the war effort. President Vladimir Putin has called for an urgent increase in drone production, claiming more than 1.5 million unmanned systems were built last year. It is not the first time there has been news of children being used in Russia's war. Last month, Georgetown University published that thousands of children abducted from Ukrainian villages were being forcibly turned into soldiers.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia appears to be launching its exploding Shahed-style drones from American-designed pickup trucks
Russia's defense ministry released new footage of its massive factory making Shahed-style drones. The footage showed how the drones can be launched from the bed of pickup trucks. Iranian-made Shahed drones and homemade Russian versions have been used in worsening attacks against Ukraine. Newly aired state media footage showed Russia operating what look to be American-designed Ram pickup trucks with Shahed-style drones ready for launch in the back. Zvezda, the Russian defense ministry's TV channel, released a video on Sunday spotlighting the large Yelabuga drone factory in the Tatarstan region, which is where the domestically produced version of the Shahed-136 is built. While the footage primarily focuses on intricate manufacturing processes inside the sprawling factory, it also offers insight into how the deadly and highly destructive drones, known by the Russian designation Geran-2, can be launched. The video shows at least one clearly identified American-designed Ram truck, with a drone mounted on the bed, charging down a runway-style strip of road surrounded by large mounds of dirt that could be designed to protect the site from attacks. Additional frames in the footage show several drones taking off from unidentified black trucks with steep climbs, resembling airplanes. At another point, the video shows five stationary black pickup trucks, all with drones mounted on the back. It also reveals the storage shelters in which the drones are kept before their potential use in the strikes against Ukraine. Like other truck-mounted launchers, the vehicles provide a flexible and mobile launch option. The exact make and model of all the pickup trucks featured in Zvezda's footage are unclear. Stellantis, a multinational automotive group that owns Ram, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. The Iranian-made Shahed-136 is a one-way attack drone, or loitering munition, that can linger in the air for a period of time before diving down at its target and exploding on impact. Russia started using the Iranian-imported Shaheds to attack Ukraine in 2022, but it has since started producing them at home. The Yelabuga factory — which is more than 1,000 miles from Ukraine's border — opened in 2023, allowing Moscow to rapidly scale up drone production without relying on Tehran. Ukraine has targeted the Yelabuga factory with long-range drones on multiple occasions. Russia uses the Shahed-style drones in nightly attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. The bombardments have grown in size in recent months, with some consisting of hundreds of attack and decoy drones — the latter are designed to exhaust Kyiv's increasingly strained air defenses. Some recent Western assessments suggest that Moscow may eventually be able to launch thousands of drones in a single night, a bombardment that could greatly overwhelm Ukraine's already heavily exhausted air defenses. Ukrainians have said Russia has introduced new tactics with its Shaheds, making their attacks more complicated, and have modified the drones to make them deadlier, including by swapping out the standard explosive payloads for thermobaric warheads. Read the original article on Business Insider Solve the daily Crossword
Metro
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Metro
First look inside Putin's secret 'death' factory where teenagers assemble drones
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Vladimir Putin has pulled back the curtain on what has been described as the 'largest and most secret' drone factory ahead of a joint naval drill with Iran. Footage – a blend of Cold War secrecy and TikTok-era propaganda – offers a rare glimpse of the Yelabuga production facility in the Russian republic of Tatarstan. Recorded by Zvezda, the Russian defence ministry's TV channel, it shows the star of Putin's war in Ukraine – the 'Geran-2' drones. This is the Kremlin's locally branded version of Iranian-designed Shahed 136. Depending on the design, the long-range exploding aircraft has a range of 600 to 1,200 miles. Timur Shagivaliev, CEO of the Yelabuga Special Economic Zone, told the channel: 'This is the largest such plant in the world and the most secret. 'At one time, the plan was to produce several thousand (Geran drones) – now we are producing nine times more than planned.' As part of its efforts to scale up development of drones to catch up with Ukraine, Russia now produces more than 5,000 long-range drones each month. Above the entrance to the factory, a giant screen read, 'Kurchatov, Korolyov and Stalin are living in your DNA,' featuring portraits of the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, Soviet nuclear physicist Igor Kurchatov and the father of the Soviet space programme Sergei Korolev. But perhaps the most surreal detail is not the scale of the drone operation at Yelabuga and who is building them. Teenagers – some barely old enough to drive – have bee recruited to work on the assembly lines at the factory. They are shown working at various stages of the production process, highlighting a recruitment programme targeting students as young as 15 from local technical colleges. 'There are young people, boys and girls, both working here and studying here in the college created by the same people who organised the production of Gerans,' a voiceover in the Zvezda video says. 'They invite schoolchildren here immediately after the ninth grade [aged 15 and 16], and after college they invite them to the plant. 'Vladimir Putin has noted the experience of Yelabuga and even called for its replication.' The drone production – using modified Shahed 136 technology – is another sign of the deepening cooperation between Russia and Iran. Bonded over mutual hatred for the West and shared isolation, both nations have traded military technology and intelligencesince the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. To underscore this relationship further, the two have launched a joint naval drill in the Caspian Sea. More Trending The CASAREX 2025 will be held under the slogan 'Together for a Safe and Secure Caspian Sea' and will take place over three days. The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported: 'The primary goal of the operation is to reinforce maritime safety and security while fostering greater cooperation among the naval forces of these countries.' It is still unclear what vessels will be involved in the operation, but the Caspian Sea hold major strategic importance for both Russia and Iran as a secure, sanctions-free zone, away from Western eyes. It also serves as a vital logistics and trade corridor, linking both nations. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Moscow airports in chaos after fourth night of Ukraine drone strikes on city MORE: Tsunami threat looms over Russia and Hawaii after series of earthquakes MORE: War planes scrambled over Nato country after Russia launches latest barage
