Russia appears to have opened a new chapter in its drone war, and quickly. Reuters reports that new satellite images show a vast jet drone launch site rising from an empty field near Millerovo, in Russia’s Rostov region, in just six weeks – now roughly the size of 126 football fields and likely just weeks away from being fully active. The Odessa Journal notes that satellite images from Monday also appeared to show drones landing in one of the areas of the site. Analysts say the facility’s eight launch pads are designed for Russia’s latest Geran-4 and Geran-5 drones, which can fly at nearly 375 mph and are increasingly targeting Ukraine, particularly around kyiv, according to Reuters.
The base could, in theory, fire 100 or more drones per day, according to Mike Monnik of the private intelligence firm DroneSec, who sees the speed of construction as evidence of how quickly Moscow can increase its long-range strike capability. Experts including London-based think tank RUSI say the development underlines Russia’s growing reliance on jet drones and highlights shortcomings in NATO countries’ air defenses.
Gn world
