Russia has built and expanded at least 10 military bases along its borders with Ukraine and Belarus, designed to launch large numbers of new jet-powered drones in an effort to systematically exhaust and break through Ukrainian air defences.
Journalists and military analysts identified 59 mechanical launch rails along the Ukrainian and Belarusian borders. These rail catapults replace runways and allow heavy fixed-wing drones to be launched rapidly from locations close to the line of contact.
At least 20 of these launch rails have an extended design. Experts say they are intended to launch new high-speed jet-powered variants of long-range drones.
Some of the hubs were created by converting existing military bases and civilian airports, while other sites were built from scratch in rural areas. Drones are delivered directly to the launch sites from Russian military factories, including the production cluster in the Alabuga special economic zone in the Republic of Tatarstan.
According to leaked documents, new variants known as the Geran-4 and Geran-5 are equipped with jet engines, can carry an enhanced 90-kilogramme warhead and travel at significantly higher speeds, reducing the effectiveness of Ukrainian mobile fire groups.
The Kremlin has “significantly expanded” its drone network to “attack Ukraine and to hold Nato states at risk of such attacks”, according to DroneSec CEO and founder Mike Monnik, who analysed satellite imagery.