The Telegraph: Russia builds new drone bases near Ukrainian and Belarusian borders
The British newspaper The Telegraph reports, citing satellite image analysis by DroneSec, that Russia has built 10 new attack drone bases along its borders with Ukraine and Belarus. Some of the new drone variants could theoretically reach NATO territory, including Poland.
The British newspaper The Telegraph reports that Russia's military has established 10 new bases for launching attack drones in large numbers along the country's borders with Ukraine and Belarus. The report is based on satellite imagery reviewed by analysts at DroneSec.
Some of the bases were set up at existing military installations and civilian airfields, while others were built entirely from scratch. Altogether, the bases contain 59 drone launch pads. Satellite images show that one of the bases has storage capacity for more than 1,000 drones.
According to The Telegraph, several Russian defense industry plants supply the bases with drones, including facilities located in the Alabuga special economic zone.
Potential range
Experts estimate that 20 of the launch pads are capable of launching new variants of Russia's Geran attack drone, which is based on Iran's Shahed design. The Telegraph reports that these newer drones are believed capable of flying up to 1,000 kilometers, which would theoretically put cities such as Warsaw within reach.
The newspaper notes, however, that there is currently no indication Russia is preparing to strike Polish territory. At the same time, the new bases are already being used extensively for strikes on Ukraine.
