Putin orders arms factories to make more Lancet kamikaze drones
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Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has ordered the head of a state-owned defence conglomerate to increase the production of attack drones, as the drone war in Ukraine ramps up.
In televised footage of the meeting on Monday night, the Russian president was told by the head of Rostec, which produces around 90 per cent of Russia’s military equipment, to increase the number of kamikaze drones being churned out.
Putin said Russia needed more Kub and Lancet drones, which have become a thorn in the side of Ukraine’s advancing forces, saying they had proven “very effective”.
“It is necessary to increase the percentage of the production of the latest types of weapons. T-90 ‘Proryv’ tanks and aircraft systems,” the Russian leader said.
Russian state media said, last month, that the Lancet drone was going into mass-production, with Rossiya-1 television reporting that production would be tripled in the coming months.
Ukrainian military officers have described the drones as being among their biggest threats on the battlefield as Moscow’s kamikaze drones are difficult to defend against.
The drones fly low and slow to avoid traditional air defence systems and can be piloted directly by operators on the ground, unlike the Iranian-made Shahed drones which are pre-programmed to head to a target that cannot be changed once launched.
Analysts have suggested that Russia’s defence ministry is keen to get hold of more of the Lancet drones, which reportedly cost around £28,000 each, as a low cost way of making up for losses of their more expensive and sophisticated equipment.
