Plan is to produce up to 10 thousand kamikaze drones a year: How Russians assemble and manufacture "Shaheds" - InformNapalm
Ukrainian hackers from the "Cyber Resistance" team have gained access to data from the Russian "Albatros" LLC. The data includes thousands of pages of internal documentation, technical data and drawings of various types of UAVs.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to InformNapalm.
On 2 April 2024, the Ukrainian Defence Forces launched a kamikaze drone attack on the territory of the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, located in the municipal district of Yelabuga, Republic of Tatarstan, a subject of the Russian Federation. The target of the attack was a plant in Yelabuga where the racists assemble Iranian "Shahed 136" missiles, under the Russian marking "Geranium-2", which are periodically used to attack civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
The hackers obtained documents showing that not only kamikaze drones are produced in a separate workshop in Yelabuga, but the entire territory of the special economic zone is a continuous military facility that is a legitimate military target for destruction.
"Albatros" LLC has been producing drones since 2017 and was located in the Moscow region for the first years of its existence. However, in 2023, the company became a resident of "Alabuga'. The hackers obtained more than 100 GB of the company's internal data by accessing the personal data of the company's CEO, Alexei Florov.
In January 2023, the Russian media outlet RBC published the news that "Alabuga" would produce drones and motor boats. Both "Albatros" LLC and "Dolphin Alabuga" LLC were mentioned in the publication. Moreover, Florov was named in this publication as a "representative of Dolphin Alabuga".
Before Russia's full-scale invasion, the "Alabuga" Special Economic Zone was quite attractive for domestic and foreign investment. In 2016, 74% of all foreign investment in Tatarstan came from "Alabuga". With the invasion and the imposition of sanctions against Russia, many foreign companies began to wind down their operations in this economic zone.
Later, the special economic zone became a military-industrial complex.
Information about Russia's plans to produce Iranian-made military drones on its territory appeared in the autumn of 2022. In 2023, the media reported that the plant was being built on the territory of the "Alabuga" SEZ, and the White House released a photo of the alleged location of the production facilities.
The leaked data revealed that the Russians used coded names in their correspondence and other documents: the drones were called "boats" ("motor boats"), and their explosives were called "bumpers". The leak also made it clear that the "Shahed-136" UAVs, which are labelled as "Geranium-2" in Russia, are referred to in the documents as Dolphin 632 motorboats. That is, a dolphin.
Once the technology is fully transferred from Iran, Russia plans to produce up to 10,000 kamikaze drones per year.
"In March 2024, the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Andrei Belousov, who also serves as the chairman of the Government Commission for the Development of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, was scheduled to visit Alabuga. ... It is rather strange to show the production of Dolphin motor boats to a person who is the head of the commission for the development of UAVs," the article says.
The hackers managed to gain access to the list of "Alabuga's" facilities that were planned to be shown to Belousov.
The most interesting thing is in the second paragraph of this table. The Dolphin project (Synergy 8.2 building). This mysterious item does not contain a note, and the specifications only indicate the production area (40,000 sq m) and the vague phrase "composite, assembly and testing production of products". What kind of products? It is not known. However, the planned number of these "products" is 10,000 units per year.
The American Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) monitors Russian shaheds' production and in a September update on the progress of drone production, showed satellite images of the same workshops that were published last summer by the White House.
"The building on the left is labelled 8.2, and the building on the right is labelled 8.1. The Albatross website states that their main address is 423601 Republic of Tatarstan, urban settlement of Elabuga, territory of the SEZ "Alabuga", Sh-1 Street, 8/1. As confirmed by the materials of the Centre for Investigative Journalism, the building on the right is Synergy 8.1, where "Albatrosses" are assembled. Accordingly, the building on the left is Synergy 8.2 and is the Dolphin project - the production of motor boats, and de facto - shaheds," the authors noted.
The hacked email contained a request letter from Ramis Sakhabutdinov, Senior Security and Access Control Specialist at "Alabuga" SEZ, asking for a quick survey of a number of employees, as he had received a request from "superior colleagues". All the employees who are to fill in the questionnaires are allegedly involved in the production of "motor boats". Notably, the questionnaire to be filled out by the employees includes information on contact numbers used by motorboat manufacturers, the availability of a passport and travel abroad since 2014, as well as information on relatives and the degree of kinship.
"Konstantin Spiridonov, Chief Designer of Motor Boat Production, also works at 'Albatross', and he is the leader of the production team.
"He has a rather specific personal email address for a 'motorboat designer': [email protected]."Fighter pilot" or "sniper pilot" are nicknames that Spiridonov often uses to accompany his online activities. In particular, he uses these nicknames in the id of his personal page "Vkontakte" or as a pseudo-developer of modifications for the game ARMA 3 (one of Spiridonov's hobbies)," the investigation says.
His education is also relevant for an aircraft designer.
"The key role played by Florov and Spiridonov in the development of unmanned aerial vehicles in Yelabuga is also confirmed by other documents. Prior to moving to the SEZ in early 2023, the company submitted a business plan (which included Albatros' production facilities) to the economic zone's management. The documents contain a separate clause on managers and their responsibilities. For example, Florov is responsible for record keeping and secrecy. For example, Spiridonov was responsible for technological development and "invention", the authors noted.
Not only "Albatrom" manufactures drones in "Alabuga", but the entire economic zone, including the Alabuga Polytechnic Vocational School located on its territory, is involved.
"This is confirmed by the biography of Yevgeny Makhnutin, the head of one of the departments in the Management group of the Motor Boat Production Department. Makhnutin is a recruiter who joined "Alabuga" in November 2022. He is looking for the right personnel not only for the production of UAVs, but also for other residents of the special economic zone. Previously, Makhnutin travelled around Russia and told university students about the benefits of employment, urging them to move to Yelabuga," the investigators added.
The Cyber Resistance team drew attention to the identity of Viktor Pluhatyrev, who was born on 10 November 2006.
"If the date is correct, then Plugatyrev should be less than 18 years old now. This does not prevent him from holding the position of 'specialist of the motorboat production support department'. During the preparation of this text, it was not possible to obtain documents that conclusively prove Plugatyrev's studies at "Alabuga Polytechnic". But there was definitely a channel in the telegram network with a description like the one in the image below," they said.
Another indication that UAVs are being manufactured in Yelabuga is a letter demanding that a number of employees submit their business trip reports for 2023. Some of the representatives of this list went on business trips to Tehran.
All of this indicates that UAVs are manufactured in Alabuga. Only two Alabuga companies are under US sanctions - "Albatross" and "Dolphin Alabuga". "Alabuga Special Economic Zone", "Alabuga Development", "Alabuga Exim" and "Alabuga Machinery" are still not under sanctions.
