The young Russian company Aero-HIT, which specializes in the production of small quadcopter-type drones, has plans to significantly increase its monthly production at its facility in Khabarovsk, a city located very close to the border with China in the Russian Far East.
A recent visit by senior officials from Russia’s Eastern region to Aero-HIT LLC’s Khabarovsk (or Jabárovsk) plant revealed that plans are underway to significantly expand production of light drones, which are widely used in all sorts of civilian and governmental applications, but are proving critical to both sides in the war in Ukraine.
#UkraineRussiaWar
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???? Date: ~06.11.2023
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✉️source: https://t.co/iFNtMKdwXG pic.twitter.com/8c31tCHG9m— Military Summary (@MilitarySummary) November 7, 2023
According to TRANSSIB INFO (Russian media specialized in the eastern region of the country), Aero-HIT acquired modern equipment and resources necessary for the expanded production of unmanned aerial systems. The plant already produces FPV drone models called Veles, which are successfully used in the northeastern region of Russia. Currently, the plant’s capacity allows it to produce up to 300 UAVs per month, but there are plans to increase production volumes to 1,000 units per month.
“We plan to involve universities, technical schools and laboratories in the production of some UAV components. We face the task of localizing production in the region. That is why we will provide support to this and other enterprises that assemble UAVs,” said Mikhail Degtiarev, governor of the Khabarovsk region.
See also: Russia readies next-generation Lancet suicide drones for use in Ukraine
To the East
This measure not only seeks to increase Russian production of this type of drones, so vital in the Ukrainian theater of operations, but also to reduce dependence on components imported from the West for their manufacture. Thanks to the progress of sanctions imposed by Europe and the United States, it is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive for Russia to import the components it does not manufacture domestically for the production of its own drone models.
Another way in which the Kremlin seeks to overcome this “Western bottleneck” is by fostering industrial and scientific cooperation with Chinese partners, for which Aero-HIT’s location, on the banks of the Amur River and just a few kilometers from the northeastern border of China’s Heilongjiang province, is of strategic importance.
Moscow also has plans to create in the Far East an integrated research and production center for the development of unmanned aerial systems for military and civilian purposes. The proximity to China could be the main factor motivating this decision, for the aforementioned conveniences, but another strategically relevant aspect is that this future facility would be safe from any missile or drone attack coming from Ukrainian territory.
Given the resourcefulness of the Ukrainian forces in striking (with varying effectiveness) deep into the Russian territory, it is likely that in the future we will see how the Kremlin will seek to relocate and transfer a good part of its lightweight military production to the central and eastern regions, far away and safe from Europe.
