FPV drones in Russia are gradually moving into the category of mass consumables, and their production volumes continue to grow rapidly. According to foreign sources, the average use of such devices by the Russian army already reaches approximately 830 units per hour.
In 2026, it is planned to produce about 7.3 million FPV drones, as well as about 7.8 million warheads for various types of unmanned systems. Such volumes indicate a shift from targeted application to mass use within the troop structure.
At the stated rates, production can reach more than 600 thousand units per month or about 20 thousand per day. Even taking into account losses at the stages of assembly, logistics, and operator training, a high level of saturation of units with unmanned aerial vehicles is maintained.
In parallel, the concept of FPV system application is also changing. The emphasis is shifting from training a limited number of highly qualified crews to mass use of drones and constant fire pressure due to quantity and distributed application.
The expansion of the structure of unmanned aerial system troops is noted separately. The number of these units by the end of 2026 may increase to 165.5 thousand people with a further increase to 210 thousand. It is planned to form about a thousand specialized units and expand operator training, including integration into the civilian education system.
The development of this direction is directly linked to the introduction of satellite systems, secure communication channels, and automated control systems, but the timing of their full integration remains uncertain.
