Daily news program released Sunday on the russian mainstream state-owned TV channel featured a noteworthy report. The journalists showed FPV drone manufacture at a bread-making company in Tambov.
After traveling about 500 km across the russian federation, these drones allegedly end up in the hands of russian soldiers fighting on occupied territories of Ukraine. Despite being ordinary copters made completely out of Chinese components, the russians already named them Bekas and showed footage of piloting tests performed on mannequins of Ukrainian soldiers. But the most interesting aspects hide in the details.
Read more: Ukrainian FPV Drones Massively Outnumber russian Ones on the Frontline, What Can russia Do About it
To start with, the author of this report is Aleksandr Rogatkin, the one who previously made the viral report about Lancet drone manufacture. The main point he tries to convey is that soon the drones will be assembled "faster than bread buns," an allusion to a quote by USSR ruler Nikita Khrushchev who used to say missiles are made in the Soviet Union faster than sausages, although it obviously wasn't true at all.
As for the FPV drone production at a bread factory, the situation is no different. In fact, the whole story is just about a single workshop at this facility than is provided for this venture. It is a local initiative.
The Bekas drone they show off in the report can lift up to 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs) of explosive payload. The rate of production is 230 to 250 copters a month, approximate cost per unit is RUB 50,000 (around $500).
The bread company's representative says explicitly that they only assemble ready-made parts they get supplied from "abstract" South-Eastern Asia. The only thing they make themselves is the airframe: and not even of carbon fiber but of phenolic fabric.
There are a few narratives to take note of in this video. First is that even wounded russian soldiers can contribute to the fighting in Ukraine as the journalists show one of such people painting the phenolic airframes. Another idea voiced in the report is to involve students and schoolchildren in drone production as well.
Generally, the main leitmotif of the TV report is that the russian army needs more drones, up to the rates of 100 drones per 1 kilometer of frontline. For reference, the front line of active hostilities between Ukrainian and russian forces is 850 to 1,200 km, according to various sources.
Another recurring theme is that so far all such FPV drone manufactures are nothing larger than local initiatives, i.e. volunteer projects, while national-scale programs, systematic funding, tax benefits are needed.
That is why we can conclude that apart from this unique episode, making drones at bread factories still hasn't become a trend in russia. It is a secluded case, a self-motivated project that is being represented as an example for others to follow.
Read more: Mass Production of FPV-Drones is Apparently Takes Place in russia, and It's a Bad Sign
