The Teen Drone Assembly Line: What’s Really Happening Inside Russia’s “World-Biggest” Kamikaze-Drone Plant
Short answer up-front:
Russia does run a gigantic drone factory in Yelabuga, Tatarstan, where 14- and 15-year-olds help assemble the very Geran-2 (“Shahed-136”) drones raining down on Ukrainian cities. Most of the viral claims are true—except the eye-popping figure of “18,000 drones in six months” and the rock-bottom student wages, which are less certain or outright low-balled.
Read on to see how we sorted fact from fiction—inside a story that starts with a gleaming production line, slips into a high-pressure boarding school, and ends in a war zone 1,000 km away.
1. The Moment the Curtain Lifted
On 21 July 2025, Russia’s military TV channel Zvezda aired a glossy, seven-minute segment.
Cameras swept across hangars the size of football fields. Teenagers, faces blurred, snapped carbon-fiber wings together while a manager proclaimed:
“Alabuga is now the largest strike-drone factory on Earth.”
Reuters grabbed the footage, verified the location, and the story rocketed around the world. The secrecy was over; the propaganda had begun.
Verified: factory exists, teenagers work there, and management calls it the world’s biggest
(Reuters link)
2. Kids in Coveralls: Groomed for a War Industry
Alabuga Polytechnic College, a short bus ride from the plant, starts recruiting at age 14.
Students follow a military-style routine:
- 15-hour shifts reported during “production pushes”
- Quota-based pay that can reach 60–70 k rubles ($670–$760) on paper
- Non-disclosure fines up to 2 million rubles ($22 k) if they talk—or quit
Why the pay dispute?
The original article quoted $335–$445. Leaked contracts show offers almost double that, yet multiple students told independent outlet Mediazona their real take-home pay plunged once production penalties were docked. In other words, both numbers hide pieces of the truth.
Sources: Mediazona contract leak; ISIS-Online report
3. The Black-Painted “Geran-2”
Technicians spray each drone a matte charcoal that absorbs light—and, Ukraine says, some radar. Since late 2023, Ukrainian forces have recovered fragments with this coating.
Verified: black paint used to hinder night-time detection
(mil.in.ua analysis)
The drones’ range—1,500–2,000 km—comfortably lets them fly from Tatarstan to Kyiv.
4. Production Numbers: Nine-Fold Growth, But How Many Drones?
Factory director: “Output has grown nine-fold since launch.”
Ukrainian-run UNITED24 claimed 18,000 drones in Jan–Jun 2025.
What we know:
- Russia never published monthly figures.
- Independent satellite counts are impossible; the plant is roofed.
- No neutral monitor has confirmed the 18 k figure.
👉 Status: Speculative. Treat the 18,000 number as an informed guess, not a verified fact.
5. From Classroom to Combat Zone
Once a student graduates, a conveyor belt of paperwork whisks them straight onto the factory floor. Meanwhile, far to the west, Ukrainian cities brace for nightly drone swarms. The same Geran-2s have:
- Struck Kyiv’s energy grid
- Slammed into Odesa port facilities
- Targeted apartment blocks despite Russian claims of “only military sites”
Put plainly, teenagers in Yelabuga are assembling weapons that explode in the courtyards of people they will never meet.
6. Bigger Picture: Children and Russia’s War Machine
Alabuga is not an isolated case. A June 2025 Georgetown University study concluded Russia is militarising thousands of deported Ukrainian children, moving them through “patriotic education” camps and, in some instances, pre-military training.
The message: grooming minors for war is becoming policy, not an aberration.
Source: Georgetown Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues
7. What Remains Unclear
- Actual wages after fines—students sign strict gag orders.
- Real production totals—satellite imagery can’t see through factory roofs.
- Long-term coercion—penalty clauses exist, but how often are they enforced?
Investigators are digging, but Russia’s secrecy laws—and parental liability threats—keep many voices silent.
8. Why This Matters
- War Ethics: Using minors blurs the line between civilian and combatant labour.
- Global Security: Mass-produced, cheap drones can overwhelm even advanced air defenses.
- Future Precedent: If one country normalises teenage arms production, others may follow.
Key Takeaways
- Fact: Russia’s Alabuga plant is real, vast, and staffed by teenagers.
- Fact: Drones built there have struck Ukrainian civilians.
- Correction: Claims of “only $335 wages” and “18,000 drones in six months” are either incomplete or unverified.
- Open Question: How far will Russia—and any state at war—go in drafting its children into the supply chain?
Journalist’s note on method:
Every claim above was cross-checked against at least one independent source. Where evidence was thin, we labeled it unverified and linked the primary outlet so you can judge for yourself. Transparency is the only antidote to fog-of-war propaganda—no matter which flag it flies.