Russian Drone Production Amplified After US, EU Sanctions: UAV Manufacturer

Economic sanctions have made Russian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) manufacturers operate more effectively, according to the Director of UAV development programs at Russia’s Vega Radio Engineering Corporation Arkady Syroyezhko.

 “The import substitution program could help [Russian defense] industry to apprehend its drawbacks and to use its existing internal reserves. Yes, this is going to be hard, but we will solve this problem. Sanctions have made [the defense industry] work more effectively,” Syroyezhko was quoted as saying by Ria Novosti.

According to the report, Syroyezhko said that while Russian Defense Ministry is not purchasing foreign UAVs, in the future it plans to continue buying certain foreign-made components.

“A well-planned cooperation is needed. It also makes no sense to focus only on import. The import substitution program will help to reveal the industry’s shortcomings,” the official added.

Russia has been placed under several rounds of economic sanctions by the United States and the European Union over Russia’s involvement in the Ukrainian crisis.

In September, Vladimir Kozhin, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aide on military-technical cooperation, said the sanctions have forced Russia to launch a comprehensive import substitution program that would help domestic manufactures overcome dependency on foreign components. He also stated that Russia would eventually be able to produce almost 100 percent of military production domestically, the report added.