Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, during a working trip to troops of the Central Military District, inspected the implementation of the state defense order for the production of reconnaissance and attack unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by enterprises of the defense industry in Udmurtia, the ministry said.
The minister instructed the management of the enterprises to increase the speed, quantity, and quality of products by increasing the automation of production facilities. UAVs should be used to solve the tasks of relay, control, guidance, and target designation during special operations, Shoigu said at a meeting with defense industry enterprises producing drones of various classes.
Sergei Shoigu was also shown new Russian composite materials that significantly increase the survivability of drones, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Shoigu noted that most of the tasks set for the enterprises a year ago have already been accomplished.
"Now we need to move on to the next stage, which is called 'solving the tasks received during the special military operation.' Many of them are familiar to you. They are issues of retransmission, control, guidance, target designation," the minister said.
The Kalashnikov Group will double the production of Vikhr-1 guided missiles, Kitolov-2 projectiles, and Strela anti-aircraft missiles, the Russian Defense Ministry added.
"The head of the Russian Defense Ministry was informed that... thanks to the commissioning of new production facilities, the output of high-precision weapons, including Vikhr-1 air-launched guided missiles, Kitolov-2 guided artillery shells, and Strela anti-aircraft guided missiles, will increase twofold," the ministry said.
Shoigu emphasized that the company's management should pay attention to the demand for anti-aircraft guided missiles. "The head of the Russian Defense Ministry was informed that since 2022 new workshops have been opened, the commissioning of which allowed to increase the production of unmanned aerial vehicles by 60%, and in the future to multiply their output," the ministry said.
The Lancet drones developer presented Sergei Shoigu with new samples of reconnaissance and attack UAVs, which were improved taking into account the experience of the special military operation.
Shoigu was also told that new developments by the ZALA AERO company will allow for all combat drones of its production to be united into a single system and to attack enemy objects in an automated mode.
The capabilities of the Russian Armed Forces enable it to fight successfully against Ukrainian FPV drones in the special operation zone, Sergei Shoigu concluded.