Sofia Davydenko12:25, 29.05.26

Moscow is ramping up production at its giant military-industrial complex.

Russia breaks records in production of Shahed drones– and the main driver of this leap is China. Beijing supplies most of the components for their production, including the microchips that control flight and targeting, writes The Telegraph.

A giant production complex called Alabuga operates in Tatarstan. It is reported that three years ago they were producing about 10 drones a day. Today, that number is already 404. More than 5,000 Shaheds roll off the assembly line every month. At the same time, in the last thirty days alone, Russia has produced more than 8,000 of these drones in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Military Intelligence Research Institute has estimated that 65% of the components of these drones are of Chinese origin. These include microchips, antennas, batteries, carbon fiber, and FPGA programmable microcircuits, which are actually the “brains” of the weapon.

Thus, it was Chinese electronics that allowed not only mass-producing the Shahed, but also making them more technically advanced, analysts note. The new versions have a longer range and are better protected from radio interference.

“China is effectively the main backer of the Russian military-industrial complex,” said Spencer Faragasso, a senior fellow at the Institute for Science and International Security.

In his opinion, Beijing “provided Russia with the capabilities and means to produce weapons” and is, in fact, part of this war. China itself is actively covering up its tracks. Thus, trade data is systematically “cleaned” and flows of goods are masked.

The authors also draw attention to the change in costs. If in 2022 Russia bought a drone from Iran for $20,000, now, with Chinese components and its own production, its cost has dropped to $7,000–10,000.

If nothing changes, it is predicted that by the end of 2026, Russia could produce 10,000 drones per month.

At the same time, “Alabuga” is not an underground bunker, and its exact location is no secret to anyone. As noted by Carolina Hird, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, with the expansion of the capabilities of Ukrainian long-range drones, this enemy plant may come under attack.

(c)UNIAN 2026