Russia Built a Major Attack-Drone Launch Base in the Rostov Region in Six Weeks — Reuters

Russia built a major attack-drone launch base in the Rostov region in six weeks — Reuters

Construction of a new base for launching jet-powered drones is nearly complete in the Rostov region, Reuters reports. The facility is located about 3.5 kilometers from the Millerovo airfield.

The base took just six weeks to build: on August 31, the future site was an empty field, while it now contains a complex covering an area equivalent to approximately 126 soccer fields, according to satellite images provided by Planet Labs and Airbus.

Mike Monnik, head of the private intelligence company DroneSec, says the facility in the images could be used to launch Geran-4 and Geran-5 jet-powered drones.

The new base has expanded Russia’s existing network of at least 11 fixed launch sites used for attacks on Ukraine, the agency writes.

“The speed of construction shows how quickly Russia can now deploy proven offensive capabilities,” Monnik said. According to the expert, the base could potentially support the launch of 100 or more jet-powered drones within 24 hours.

Photos: Planet Labs, Airbus

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