Putin says Russian armies received around 140,000 drones in 2023

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the Russian armed forces received approximately 140,000 drones last year, and according to his assessment, this year's production will be 10 times higher.

Speaking at a meeting of the Military-Industrial Commission in Moscow to discuss the development of special-purpose drones, Putin said apart from the quantity, the Russian defense industry plans to produce more types of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

"The armed forces received approximately 140,000 drones of various types in 2023. This year, drone production is planned to increase significantly, nearly tenfold to be precise... the majority of them will be sent to armies on the front line," he stated.

He stressed that, in addition to drone production, it is necessary to develop systems that allow them to be disabled -- either by shooting or jamming them with military weapons.

The president called the production of a wide range of drones "a key task," urging that serial production begin "as quickly as possible."

"And I emphasize that it is the serial production of such promising equipment. And, of course, we need to create groundwork for the future. That is, we can already predict what tasks drones will solve tomorrow," he asserted.