(Dan Tri) – In the war of attrition with Ukraine and faced with a large amount of Western equipment supporting Kiev, Russia has increased its military production capacity to maintain its superiority on the front line.
Satellite photo of Russia’s Kazan factory (Photo: Planet Labs).
Ukrainian media posted satellite images showing that Russia is actively building military factories to produce and repair strategic aircraft, combat helicopters, drones and guided bombs.
For example, at the Kazan aviation plant of state corporation Rostec, Russia manufactures and repairs strategic bombers such as the Tu-22M3 and Tu-160, important weapons that help Russia launch missiles into Ukraine.
Construction of the new hangar began in 2018, but in 2022, construction accelerated and was almost completed this year.
According to military experts, this workshop can repair and upgrade strategic bombers.
Meanwhile, a hangar with access to the runway appeared on the premises of the Irkutsk aviation plant from 2019 to 2021, and this year the construction of another similar facility is being completed.
The scope of activity of this company is the repair and production of Su-30 fighter aircraft of all variants.
At the Dubna machine-building plant in Moscow, the Raduga State Machine-Building Design Bureau specializes in the production of Kh-22, Kh-55 and Kh-101 missiles.
In 2021, Russia began construction of a large building to be completed in 2023. This is a new factory for the production of Russian UAVs, owned by the company Kronstadt Engineering.
The company focuses on the production of military drones under the Orion, Helios and other brands, with various modifications ranging from reconnaissance drones to attack drones.
New buildings built at the Irkutsk factory (Photo: Planet Labs).
At the Ural civil aviation plant in Yekaterinburg, Russia repairs engines and gearboxes on military helicopters such as Mi-2, Mi-8, Mi-24 and Ka-52.
Previously, Ukraine and Western intelligence had repeatedly publicly stated that Russia was facing weapons exhaustion due to sanctions from the US and its allies.
However, last month, the New York Times commented that after the first months since the outbreak of war, facing difficulties due to the embargo, Russia’s weapons manufacturing industry has accelerated rapidly again.
Before the conflict, Russia could produce 100 tanks a year, according to a senior Western defense official.
Western officials also believe that Russia is on track to produce 2 million artillery shells per year, double the initial number that Western intelligence agencies estimated Russia could produce before the conflict.
Thanks to that, Russia is producing more ammunition than the US and Europe.
In September, Rostec, Russia’s largest arms manufacturer, said President Vladimir Putin had requested a rapid production boost to meet demand and achieve the goals of the military campaign in Ukraine.
`We are ramping up production at breakneck speed,` said Bekhan Ozdoev, Rostec’s industrial director.
He said the number of tanks, armored vehicles, rocket launchers, artillery, Iskander short-range ballistic missiles, Pantsir medium-range surface-to-air missile systems and Kinzhal hypersonic missiles have increased significantly.
