The "Ushkuynik" plant in the Nizhny Novgorod region initially conceived the "Shell" unmanned surface vessel (USV) project as a serial one. This was stated by Evgeny Mandelshtam, advisor to the general director of the enterprise.
According to him, "Shell" was sent for an accelerated development cycle, bypassing the protracted stage of one-off prototypes.
Even the first 20 boats were assembled according to the serial model. In parallel, production processes were built that allow a seamless transition from small batches to large-scale production.
Mandelshtam emphasized that the production of "Shell" is opaque, and the entire supply chain remains fragmented. "Ushkuynik" deliberately took this step to maintain the decentralization of component supplies.
Several duplicate productions in different regions produce various components, without having the slightest idea what will result.
As a reminder, "Shell" became the world's first USV with fiber optic control. The platform is designed for reconnaissance, patrolling the water area, and launching "Knyaz Vandal Novgorodsky" drones from the board.
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