Shahed drones are assembled at a factory in Tatarstan republic under a franchising deal.

When the Russian Federation’s government says that it is not buying Iranian drones, it may be right. An investigative outlet called Protocol has found that Shaheds – a low-cost delta-wing model of Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – are actually manufactured inside Russia. 

The factory for Russia-made Shahed is located in the Tatarstan republic’s Alabuga free economic zone, 1,000 kilometers east of Moscow, and its assembly hangar alone covers 40,000 square meters.

The Alabuga free economic zone is located deep inside Russia. Credit: Google

Under the franchising deal with the Tehran government, which was valued at 115-130 billion rubles (over 1.44 billion US dollars), Iran supplies the components and designs for UAVs. The components are shipped from Iran to the city of Nizhnekamsk in Tatarstan, and from there by trucks to Alabuga.

The Islamic republic also provides training for Alabuga workers; the first group of Russian specialists traveled to Iran for this kind of training in March 2023 and overall at least 200 specialists will study the assembly process, the investigators learned.

The Russian side is also allowed to adapt the UAV designs to specific needs and rename the product (Geran-2). In internal documents which Protocol has obtained, the Russian side calls the products “boats” and refers to Iran as “Belarus”, obviously for coverup purposes.

A page from internal documents with the description of a "boat". Credit: Protocol

The factory cost 80 billion rubles, of which 30 billion was taken from Russian taxpayers and the remaining 50 billion was donated by the VTB bank or its CEO Andrey Kostin.

In 2024, Alabuga management intends to manufacture Shahed components on the spot and introduce production automation.

Iran has been accused by the West for supporting Russia in its war against Ukraine, which the Islamic republic denies.

With a total mass of 200 kilograms, Shahed / Geran-2 drones can deploy a 30-50-kilogram warhead as far as 2,500 kilometers, at a maximum speed of 185 kilometers per hour. A unit costs between 10,000 and 50,000 US dollars.