Minister of Defense of russia, Andrey Belousov, announced plans to create a new branch of the military: the unmanned systems troops. Speaking at the meeting of the ministry's advisory board, Belousov said the new organization should be completed by Q3 of 2025.
President Putin, also present at the meeting, stressed on the need to increase the numbers of drones produced and expand the training of drone operators while taking into account real combat experience.
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Minister Belousov also mentioned that as of today, the russian federation uses more than 3,500 drones on the battlefield every day (it wasn't possible to independently confirm this figure) and that the central focus of effort currently is to improve the specifications of unmanned equipment. He highlighted three priorities: the range, the flight duration (endurance), and the stability of connection in denied environments, specifically under heavy EW jamming.
The russian media covering the news note that creation of a new branch of the military involves developing a "theory and practice of training for operational-scale missions."
From an outsider point of view, it looks like the Kremlin is planning to establish this new structure not just on paper but take it seriously, with personnel training according to re-structured training programs, etc. Though, how this will all work out in practice is another story.
The russians also point out a critical need to form separate units for unmanned systems (for now, it's mainly about the aerial component, apparently), deploy infrastructure, the supply system, etc. The introduction of separate divisions is being considered. The units of unmanned systems troops, similarly to air defense troops, will be part of the ground forces, air force, and so on.
Separately, russian experts emphasize the importance of strategic reconnaissance drones and the need to copy the experience of the United States in this domain.
For context, in February 2024, Ukrainian authorities announced the creation of a new branch within the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Unmanned Systems Forces. The decision on this unprecedented military corps was sealed with a decree signed in June.
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