The russian defense industry is sharply ramping up production of Shahed-family long-range kamikaze drones, aiming to surpass 6,000 units per month — more than 200 per day, or over 72,000 annually.
Along with this growth in output, the unit cost of these drones has dropped significantly compared to 2022. The cost of a single Shahed produced this year at the Alabuga special economic zone has fallen to around $70,000, CNN reports, citing the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine.
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Other estimates, however, differ. The Center for Strategic and International Studies, also quoted in the article, had reported in February 2025 that a Shahed cost $35,000, and in May updated its assessment to a broader range of $20,000 to $50,000 per unit.
While these figures are difficult to verify independently, the lower bound of $20,000 appears unlikely, whereas $50,000–70,000 seems more plausible.
For comparison, Ukraine's own long-range FP-1 drone costs about $55,000 per unit, and its production rate has recently reached roughly 100 drones per day.
Despite the variation in estimates, it is clear that russia has significantly reduced the cost of Shahed production — drones used primarily in terror attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. Cost-cutting measures reportedly include design simplifications like using engines without starters or flywheels.
If the $70,000 figure is accurate, the current price represents a nearly threefold decrease compared to late 2022 and early 2023.
At that time, documents leaked by hackers about the iranian-russian drone program showed that the Shahed-136's initial price was $370,000 per unit. Bulk procurement lowered the cost to $290,000 for 2,000 units, and further to $193,000 per unit for orders of 6,000. The last one was the price that dominated russian purchases for some time.
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