Russia builds “doomsday drone” for use after nuclear strike

This drone is intended to warn soldiers; development step or propaganda bluff: Putin wants to catch up with Russia’s lag in drone technology.

Moscow – “We are only at the beginning in this area,” says Dmitry Kuzjakin. Speaking to the Russian news agency Cup the economist and former member of the Russian Duma announced the development and construction of a “doomsday drone”. Apparently, Vladimir Putin is planning a combat scenario for the time after a nuclear strike. Russia’s dictator and his vassals have made the corresponding threats many times before – it seems that his steps are now becoming concrete.

The drone is to be developed as a first-person view system (FPV), according to the managing director of the Russian developer of unmanned aerial vehicles, Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions (CUS), compared to the Cup explained. What is new about it is that it has been developed solely to measure radiation and to ensure the safety of personnel in contaminated environments as far as possible. Instead of carrying a combat load, the new Russian drone will be equipped with sensors to detect pollutants or a dosimeter to measure radioactive contamination along its flight path, explains the Norwegian online magazine Today based on Kuzjakin’s statements.

Putin’s “doomsday drone”: ultimately a flying dosimeter

Ultimately, the drone appears to be merely a measuring instrument and to have a much more martial name than its effectiveness. The drone is supposed to be small and compact, making it easy for troops to carry it. Its range is, according to Cupbetween 500 and 2,000 meters – depending on the existing signal strength and the degree of nuclear contamination.

“Given that Ukraine, with the support of its Western allies, is making significant progress in the use of drones, Russia will not be able to restore its superiority in this aspect of military power.”

Loud Newsweek Kuzjakin pointed out that although various reconnaissance aircraft platforms already existed, including those for radiation detection, these were often expensive and complex. The costs, however, seem to be only a minor aspect, albeit a notable one: Russia seems to be running out of money for the Ukraine war and a subsequent confrontation with NATO. However, the Kremlin has apparently been playing out concrete scenarios for a long time, as Kuzjakin from the magazine Newsweek is quoted.

“To date, the CUS more than 20 scenarios have been developed and implemented. These include, for example, attack operations in urban environments and buildings to counter terrorism or operations from armored vehicles,” he said. “We still need to explore the FPV industry further,” he continued, stressing that an FPV drone combines the required properties such as speed and maneuverability – this enables it to operate optimally even in difficult environments, for example inside buildings.

Drones in the Ukraine war: Russian leadership still skeptical

Although the Ukraine war represents the laboratory situation for the use of drones of any kind on a future battlefieldRussia seems to remain skeptical about their value and to maintain its focus on electronic warfare. “Russian bloggers and volunteers point out that some Russian commanders still do not understand the value of these drones. They do not understand how such technology and small drone units fit into the larger force structure, and are sometimes reluctant to use such technology more broadly at the tactical level,” says Samuel Bendett in the magazine Forbes.

In contrast to their skills in electronic warfare, the Russians appear to be significantly inferior to the West and Ukraine in the development of drones, or so claims Isabelle Facon, although in her opinion, given Russia’s proven ability to develop complex aerospace systems, it should theoretically be able to master the skills required to develop and manufacture UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles, “drones”). “However, deficits in key technologies related to drone development (optics, electronic systems for light aircraft, composite materials, etc.) must be overcome,” writes the analyst for the think tank. Center for a New American Security.

Russia’s race to catch up with Ukraine: Up to 35,500 new drones planned per year

It is difficult to assess Russia’s success in achieving parity with Ukraine and the West in drone development. Various factors stand in Russia’s way: above all, Western sanctions on semiconductor technology, the lack of qualified technicians and scientists, and ultimately the focus on recruiting ordinary soldiers and the gigantic losses of conventional weapons. However, drones are becoming more of a concern in Russia: “However, since the Russians give such weapons a high priority, they will undoubtedly look for ways to circumvent them in order to increase their production,” claims US peace researcher Michael T. Klare.

According to him, the Russian leadership has initiated a rapid program to increase the production of such devices enormously, as he told the think tank Foreign Policy in Focus writes. In June last year, the Russian government adopted a “Development Strategy for Unmanned Aviation until 2030,” as he explains: “It calls for exponential growth in drone production. According to reports, drone production is expected to increase from around 13,000 per year between 2023 and 2026 to 26,000 per year between 2027 and 2030 and 35,500 per year between 2031 and 2035.”

Sanctions are having an effect: No Russian drone army without partner China

However, Russia seems to be far from achieving its own goals, as Samuel Bendett claims. According to the drone analyst for the think tank Center for Naval Analysis (CNA) The greatest need for tactical drones will continue to be met by volunteer organizations – the weapons are mostly procured in China, either completely or in parts that are then assembled in Russia.

Bendett also relies on reports from the Russian online magazine lenta.ru. “These people not only shop at their own expense and regularly transport food, medicine, equipment and so on to the front, but have also established a handicraft production of many things – from socks and camouflage nets to drones and thermal imaging cameras,” the magazine writes. Graduates of a military school in Moscow are said to have founded a design office with IT specialists to develop drones – or as the magazine triumphantly puts it: “Our designers are young, self-taught people.”

According to scientist Isabelle Facon, Russia now wants to catch up where the country had let slip in the early 2000s. However, Pavel Luzin believes that Russia’s citizen-led innovation in drone technology is overrated: “Unlike Ukraine, Russia cannot rely on a broad citizen movement that systematically supplies the armed forces with commercial drones and other equipment,” writes the international relations specialist for the think tank Foreign Policy Research Institute.

Russia’s drone developer: “It is a crime not to prepare for nuclear war”

Luzin expects production to stagnate given Russia’s long-term dependence on imported components and manufacturing capacity “in the areas of reconnaissance and target acquisition, as well as high-precision weapons,” as he writes. He interprets the losses of men and material as an early indicator of the decline of industrial production – including and especially of military equipment. “Given the fact that Ukraine, with the support of its Western allies, is making significant progress in the use of drones, Russia will not be able to restore its superiority in this aspect of military power,” Luzin claims.