David Hambling
Small kamikaze quadcopters made from modified racing drones have become efficient weapons for both sides in the conflict in Ukraine. The Ukrainians, with a culture of startups and tech knowledge have been far ahead in this arms race, but with official support Russia network of artisanal drone makers is now catching up – and may exceed Ukrainian production.
In Ukraine, groups like Escadrone provide increasing numbers of the miniature loitering munitions capable of taking out a tank. An Escadrone spokesman told Forbes that their production is now up to over 1,500 FPVs per month, including the larger ‘Everstrike’ version capable of taking out the heaviest targets for just a few hundred dollars.
Russian volunteers have also been producing FPV drones. So far their efforts have appeared crude and smaller scale than their Ukrainian counterpart. That may be changing.
“We [Russian forces] will soon see an avalanche-like increase in strikes using this weapon,” claims one Russian Telegram user. “The Lancet will be the long arm and a flagship kamikaze drone at operational depth, while the FPV drones will take over tactical depths.”
As previously noted, ZALA have announced plans to triple production of the Lancet, a military loitering munition with a range of 25 miles. But can production of FPV drones be scaled up even more?
Samuel Bendett an expert Russian drones and adviser to both the CNA and CNAS, told Forbes that at present the FPV production is completely decentralized and none of it is coming through the Ministry of Defense’s official procurement process.
“For now, the FPV drones are delivered by multiple self-initiated and volunteer efforts,” Bendett told Forbes.
FPV drones from Russia's Sudplatov Group ready to be shipped to the frontlineSUDPLATOV GROUP
Russian commanders have been indifferent and even hostile to the ‘toy’ attack drones, for example refusing to allow time for training. But on June 21st, President Putin himself announced that production of drones at all levels would increase, including the very smallest types.
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“It is necessary to provide all military units, including squads…with this equipment,” Putin declared according to state news agency Interfax.
Russian FPV drones have reportedly been highly effective during the Ukrainian counterattack, typically targeting vehicles while they attempt to traverse minefields.
Bendett says that Russian Telegram channels claimed that the Russian Ministry of Defense was creating a special unit to handle FPV drones and that all work would now be centralized. However, he says he has seen no announcements on any of the official state media to confirm these claims.
Bendett notes that the Sudoplatov 'Judgment Day' volunteer effort which has previously worked with Russian VDV airborne forces appears to be expanding. One product is an FPV claimed to carry a payload of about seven pounds over five miles, at a cost of just $440.
“To date, several tens of thousands of FPV drones have been ordered as part of the Judgement Day project. Hundreds of ‘birds’ are assembled daily for uninterrupted transfer to the front. The total number is sufficient to hold out at a good pace (against Ukraine) along the entire front line until the main drone quantity arrives from the Ministry of Defense on a systematic basis.”
What they mean by ‘the main quantity’ is not clear.
“The volunteers are hoping, or hinting, that the MoD could come around and facilitate their cheap, expendable drone production,” says Bendett. “But I have not seen proof of that yet.”
Another shipment of several hundred Russian FPV drones JUDGEMENT DAY PROJECT
The group claim that they are now distributing their drones via a special MoD section but again this cannot be confirmed.
Other known Russian FPV designs include the Ghoul and Gadfly, both low-cost designs produced by startups and sold to groups who supply them to troops on the frontline.
Another Russian group, Archangel, also appears to be ramping up production. The group says that due to the large number of volunteers wanting to become FPV pilots, they have shortened pilot training from 4 weeks to just 2 weeks by "taking out theoretical content not relevant in combat.” In Ukraine, FPV pilot training still takes a month, and the pass rate is only 60-70% due to demanding nature of FPV piloting.
“There is some indication that certain volunteer and self-initiated projects have direct MoD support,” says Bendett, citing the Privet-82 kamikaze drone, a low-cost competitor to the Lancet from a startup company. “But at the same time, the attitude of Russian defense industry majors towards such self-initiated efforts is unclear.“
FPV drones from the Russian Revenge Swarm group RUSSIAN MOD
There are other signs of an official shift too. State news agency TASS reported that Russia’s Ministry of Justice had ordered the Ministry of Sport to make drone racing an official Russian sport on June 20th and it will be included in the Games of the Future event schedules for 2024. This should increase the number of competitive FPV participants. And on 21st July, Russian news media reported that Russian schoolchildren will be taught combat drone flying as part of military training classes from September – existing courses already include the use of rifles and grenades.
Traditional Russian defence suppliers have not been successful when it comes to small drones, with their main effort, Dobryna, a revealed to be a rebranded Chinese drone sold at a massively inflated price. There is no sign yet of them entering the FPV market, where prices and margins are low, Historically these companies have enjoyed a privileged position, a close relationship with government and a culture of bureaucracy, inefficiency and corruption.
“Perhaps they think there is room both for ultra-cheap FPV drones and more expensive ones manufactured by the defense sector,” says Bendett.
However, he notes that since Prigozhin’s rebellion, there has been a crackdown on unofficial groups supporting the war effort. And that might include anyone who threatens the comfortable and profitable business of arms supply — Archangel are also working on a Lancet-type drone which they say will be one-tenth the cost of the ZALA version.
“It's time to clear this space, only run fundraisers officially,” said Vladimir Solovyov, one of the Kremlin’s biggest supporters, on his TV show. Solovyov advocated clearing out what he termed ‘fascist scum’ which could mean anyone producing FPV drones who is not part of the state apparatus.
It will not have escaped anyone’s attention that the drones being built for Ukraine could equally well be used for attacks in Moscow, and FPV drones make ideal assassination weapons. Nobody yet knows where the drones that hit Moscow recently came from. So Russia struggles to modernize rapidly while cracking down on people with dangerous new ideas.
“This will play out in the coming weeks as volunteer efforts ramp up their FPV production numbers,” says Bendett.
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