Russia has built up air defenses around its main Shahed-type drone production hub in Tatarstan, where journalists identified 33 defensive positions – a concentration comparable in number to those surrounding Vladimir Putin’s Valdai residence.
Radio Liberty reported the findings on Wednesday, Oct. 21, after examining satellite imagery taken that day. The images show additional defenses built since spring around the Alabuga special economic zone, where Russia manufactures Geran attack drones based on Iranian Shahed designs.
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New structures include concrete towers for air defense equipment and raised platforms for systems such as Pantsir or Tor. Radio Liberty contrasted the continued construction of platforms at Alabuga with Moscow, where Russian forces have increasingly favored taller towers.
The complex also has towers for heavy anti-aircraft machine guns and structures designed to support anti-drone nets over production buildings.
Alabuga remains “one of the most secure facilities in Russia against unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) strikes,” Radio Liberty wrote, comparing it with Putin’s residence at Valdai. The outlet counted 31 air defense towers and two S-300/S-400 positions around that residence.
The figures describe identified defensive positions and structures, rather than a confirmed inventory of operational missile systems. The comparison concerns the concentration of defenses – it does not establish that the two locations have equivalent protection.
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Defensive buildup accompanies factory expansion
The additional defenses accompany a broader expansion of Alabuga’s manufacturing facilities.
The Moscow Times reported that underground workshops were also under construction, citing satellite analysis by the Dnipro Osint project. Images from late August showed at least 10 new workshops being built, alongside dozens of warehouses.
Earlier imagery showed that Alabuga’s footprint expanded by 340 hectares (840 acres) between May 2025 and May 2026.
That construction included large hangars in the northern part of the zone, as well as residential and production buildings in its central section.
Work also began in April on an additional 450-hectare (1,112-acre) site south of the M-12 highway, with a dedicated road being built to connect it to the main economic zone.
The complex has become a central production hub for the Geran drones used in Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
Carbon-fiber project could support thousands more drones
Russia is also expanding the nearby Alabuga-Volokno carbon-fiber plant, potentially increasing the supply of material needed for drone airframes.
Russian state-company documents obtained by POLITICO outlined plans to add annual production capacity of up to 500 metric tons (551 US tons) of aerospace-grade carbon fiber by 2029.
Weapons expert David Albright estimated that the additional material could support production of approximately 28,000 Shahed-136 airframes a year. That is a potential manufacturing capacity increase, rather than a confirmed number of completed drones.
Satellite imagery reviewed for that investigation showed land clearance and preparations for the new facility. Carbon fiber helps keep the drones lightweight while strengthening their wings and internal structures.
Alabuga-Volokno and Rosatom’s advanced materials division, UMATEX, are under Western sanctions.
Ukraine warns of growing Russian drone reserves
The defensive buildup comes as Ukrainian intelligence warns that Russia is expanding drone production and stockpiles.
Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR) estimated that Russia’s monthly output had reached approximately 10,000 UAVs, including attack drones and decoys.
According to the assessment published on Wednesday, Oct. 21, Russia maintained an operational reserve of around 6,200 Geran drones of various versions, including jet-powered models.
HUR also said Russia’s state order for Geran attack drones and decoys exceeded 100,000 units this year.
The intelligence agency described the expanding output as part of a strategy to exhaust Ukrainian air defenses through repeated attacks. Cheaper decoys are intended to consume defensive resources and help identify the positions of Ukrainian surface-to-air missile systems.
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