On Gunsmith Day, the President spoke about how drones are manufactured in our country. Photo: Valery Sharifulin/POOL/TASS
Vladimir Putin was still working in St. Petersburg on Thursday. The President visited a drone production facility called the Special Technology Center. The full-cycle enterprise was opened in 2001: it has everything from a design office to repair shops for servicing its own drones.
The Orlan family of drones is manufactured here. These are large aircraft-type drones that are launched using special catapults. Since 2021, the plant has been developing small space satellites such as the CubeSat. These are ultra-small devices (often their dimensions do not exceed ten centimetres) for space exploration.
Vladimir Vladimirovich held a meeting of the military-industrial commission directly at the plant via video conference. At the beginning he congratulated the company’s employees on Gunsmith Day and thanked them for their work.
“Our country has always been proud of its defense industry, of the designers, engineers, workers and managers who created unique weapons and equipment and thus helped our soldiers defeat the enemy,” the president said.
He added that today defence factories are working efficiently and rhythmically, supplying troops with modern weapons, equipment and ammunition.
“The production of particularly popular samples has increased several times over,” he added.
The meeting of the military-industrial commission was devoted to the development of unmanned drones.
“Unmanned aerial vehicles of various types have already become an integral part of modern combat operations,” the president said, noting that their effectiveness was confirmed in a special operation.
– In 2023, about 140 thousand unmanned vehicles of various types were delivered to the armed forces. This year, the production of drones is expected to increase significantly, or rather, almost tenfold, the Russian leader said.
Putin noted that there is no need to stop there: it is necessary to modernize unmanned vehicles taking into account combat experience:
“Whoever reacts the quickest to these demands on the battlefield wins,” Putin stressed.
Another important task: creating anti-drone weapons.
“This will save the lives of our military personnel and civilians and will more reliably protect military equipment and civilian infrastructure,” the president noted.
The head of the country separately thanked the defense workers who personally participated in the special operation: “Risking their health and lives in the combat zone, they not only repair the equipment, but also offer design solutions for its improvement.
The Russian leader also mentioned the popular defence industry, highlighting the important role of small and medium-sized businesses in the production of drones.
“The products are often not inferior in reliability and efficiency to those of large companies,” Putin said. – I would like to thank the volunteer organizations that provide the units participating in the special operation with unmanned reconnaissance vehicles and electronic countermeasures.
The President stressed that the work of the people’s defense industry is on par with that of large defense companies: “It is necessary to remove all obstacles that hinder the supply of drones to troops.”
In conclusion, Putin announced the national project “Unmanned Aircraft Systems”, designed until 2030. One of the main tasks: the development and production of domestic components for drones.
“This is the key to technological sovereignty in the most important area for us,” said Vladimir Vladimirovich.
