Russia has agreed with Iran to launch the production of drones Shahd in Elabuz - Roszmi
This was reported by journalists of the report "Protocol", having studied the documents that came to them and having spoken with sources in the OEZ. According to the source, the Alabuga zone appeared in the Tatarstan district of Tatarstan, and by 2021 became one of the most promising projects in the region in which foreign investors were actively invested. However, after a full -scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the projects began to curtail, and foreign residents - to leave "Alabuga".
Among those who left the OEZ was, for example, one of the largest taxpayers, Ford Soller's auto concern. According to the journalists, after the announcement of the mobilization in September 2022, the leadership of "Alabuga" launched the dismissal on the call. After a while, having felt a lack of staff, the management, according to the interlocutor of journalists, decided to take a small state defense order to get a deferral for employees.
In October, Alabuga began to look for partners for the production of drones. As a result, the Albatros company appeared on the territory of the economic zone, which began to assemble drones, and soon Alabuga began to cooperate with Iran. In June 2023, the Western media, citing the US National Security Council, said that Russia was building a plant from the assembly of Iranian drones of Shahd (in the Russian army they are called "Geran-2") and plans to launch its own production.
CNN, The New York Times and other editions have published satellite images of a probable plant construction site. The contract with Iran, according to the source, referred not only to the supply of components, of which in the territory of "Alabuga" collected ready -made drones, but also the transfer of the necessary documentation by the Iranian side, as well as the training of Alabuga specialists in the territory of Iranian production.
The first such trip, according to journalists, took place in March 2023. In total, Alabuga plans to teach more than 200 people, and the queue should reach students. In the future, according to journalists, Alabuga plans to reduce the number of components from Iran and move to their own production. Initially, the drones will be removed from the deliveries, then the electronics, which is planned to be purchased, in particular, on "Aliexpress", and finally the most difficult part is engines.
According to journalists, the complete cessation of supply of components from Iran should take two to three years. Andrei Kostin, the head of VTB, could participate in the creation of the Shahd Iranian drones in Russia. The project for the construction of the Iranian drone plant was funding in the amount of 80 billion rubles. Only 30 billion was provided from the budget, and the rest of the Alabuga amount was sought on its own. Part of the Kostin could be paid, the source told reporters.
The launch of the VTB of Money Transfer to Iran in December 2022 and the opening of the bank's office, which became known in May 2023, may be indicated about the involvement of the second largest bank's assets in Russia in Russia in December 2022. It should be reminded that the head of the GUR MO Kirill Budanov stated that Ukraine is hypothetically able to perform an operation in Iran to destroy the production of SHahd-136 drones.