Russia appears to have carved a new chapter in its drone war, and quickly. Reuters reports that fresh satellite images show a sprawling jet-powered drone launch site rising from an empty field near Millerovo in Russia’s Rostov region in just six weeks—now roughly the size of 126 soccer fields and likely only weeks away from being fully active. The Odessa Journal notes that satellite imagery from Monday seemed to also show drones being unloaded in one of the site’s sectors. Analysts say the facility’s eight launch platforms are designed for Russia’s latest Geran-4 and Geran-5 drones, which can fly close to 375mph and have increasingly targeted Ukraine, especially around Kyiv, per Reuters.
The base could, in theory, fire 100 or more drones in a day, according to Mike Monnik of private intelligence firm DroneSec, who calls the speed of construction evidence of how quickly Moscow can scale its long-range strike capacity. Experts, including London think tank RUSI, say the build-out underscores Russia’s growing reliance on jet drones and highlights gaps in NATO countries’ air defenses.