Russian TV channel Zvezda has offered a rare peek into what it describes as the “largest drone assembly plant in the world” in the central part of the country, which produces thousands of drones to be used in the Ukraine conflict.

The report which aired on Sunday shows a vast drone manufacturing facility in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Tatarstan Region, more than 1,200km from the front line.

The plant focuses on producing Geran drones, described by Zvezda as “simple, cheap, and... mass-produced,” and highly accurate. Footage from the facility shows long rows of Geran airframes slightly taller than the height of an average person.

Timur Shagivaleev, the general director of Alabuga, said the current output has far exceeded initial expectations. “At one time there was a plan to produce several thousand Gerans. Right now, we are producing nine times more than the original plan,” he stated, without specifying the timeframe.

The Geran is a long-range loitering munition with a delta-wing design and rear-mounted pusher propeller. It can carry an explosive payload of 40-50kg, has a cruising speed of around 180kph, and can travel over 1,000km on a single mission.

Most of the workforce at the plant are young people, many of whom come from a nearby college, which was set up by those who organized the Geran production, according to the report.

Zvezda said the plant was built from the ground up within the Alabuga economic zone. Before the escalation of the Ukraine conflict, it focused on attracting international technology and building import-substitution capabilities.

The report also featured a facility that assembles lighter reconnaissance and strike UAVs. Many of these drones are equipped with fiber-optic cables to withstand electronic jamming.

Russia has used mass-produced drones extensively in Ukraine to target expensive Western-supplied armored vehicles, troop concentrations, and military-related facilities, with Ukrainian officials saying recent strikes involved hundreds of drones.

Moscow maintains that it never targets civilians and that the drone strikes are a response to Kiev’s attacks on residential areas and critical infrastructure in Russia.

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