Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ Russian forces are reportedly suffering from a severe shortage of FPV drones. They only receive a few poor-quality drones a day from state-approved companies, despite volunteer manufacturers having produced much better drones which the state is refusing to support. ⬇️

2/ Russian warbloggers have been complaining for at least a year that volunteer efforts to mass-produce drones, replicating Ukraine's very successful drone programme, are being blocked by the Russian military-industrial complex and its allies in the army.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1826166923840623009

3/ Russia does have a volunteer drone-production programme, which is described in detail in the thread below. However, the so-called 'people's military-industrial complex' clearly has problems in getting its products to where they are needed.

https://x.com/sambendett/status/1904124656417665087

4/ The 'Veterans' Notes' Telegram channel, which is written by a Russian UAV operator currently serving on the front line, complains:

"5-6 FPV drones per day for a strike UAV crew, what is that even about?"

5/ "I will never believe that our country does not have the money to provide unlimited use for all strike UAV crews in the Russian Armed Forces. But now our crew is allocated 5-6 drones per day. Half of them do not bind [to their remote controls], because they are crap.

6/ "We make our own drones ourselves. Good drones. All operators who have worked with our drones confirm this. Crews from other armies and units who know about our drones contact us with a request to exchange the drones that they are given for ours.

7/ "Gritting our teeth, we exchange them in a ratio of 1 to 3, because there is nothing to take away from them except for engines and some other small parts.

8/ "We can produce 5,000 drones per month at the capacities that we currently have. But no one gives a damn, they buy non-flying crap with government funds and issue it to the units, which the operators then bring to us with a request to exchange for ours.

9/ "Wherever we've applied, they've ignored us.

Screw it, if you don't want to increase production of good drones by 5,000 units, give us at least more shit, not 5-6 per day, but 20-30. We'll assemble 10 normal ones from them.

10/ "Bitch, there is a finished product. Finished! Created with public and private funds. A lot of money has been invested. Everything is there to produce.

11/ We are not asking to make money on this, give us money for components so that we can at least provide our UAV units with good products that reach their target. We are not asking for anything else.

12/ "Well, my patience has simply run out. I don't have 30 million rubles a month to cover the units' need for FPV drones.

13/ "Because they issue 5 drones a day, we have to send one soldier from the position for these drones every day and thus "burn" the position from which the crew is working and risk the life of the operator, a valuable specialist who is considered a rare specimen at the front.

14/ "It's been four years. Come on guys, how much longer can this go on!?" /end

Sources:
🔹 t.me/notes_veterans…
🔹 t.me/notes_veterans…
🔹 t.me/notes_veterans…