--- title: "Russia’s Shahed-136 Factory Attacked By Light Plane Converted Into A Drone" date: "2024-04-02" modified: "2024-04-02" authors: - name: "Thomas Newdick" job_title: "Staff Writer" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/thomas-newdick.md" url: "https://www.twz.com/news-features/russias-shahed-136-factory-attacked-by-light-plane-converted-into-a-drone" categories: - "Air" - "Around The Globe" - "Drones" - "Europe" - "News & Features" - "Russia" - "Ukraine" - "Unmanned" --- # Russia’s Shahed-136 Factory Attacked By Light Plane Converted Into A Drone ![Less than a month after we got our first glimpse inside the Russian factory where license production of the Iranian Shahed-series one-way attack drone is taking place, a Ukrainian drone attack appears to have targeted the facility.]() *via X* Less than a month after we got our first glimpse [inside the Russian factory]() where [license production]() of the Iranian [Shahed-series]() one-way attack drone is taking place, a Ukrainian attack appears to have been launched against the facility. Today’s may well have been the longest-range aerial strike launched by Ukraine so far and it appears to have involved a previously unseen drone that was converted from a light manned aircraft. https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1775036447696834621 A video that appeared today on social media shows the improvised drone coming in low and slamming into a building, resulting in a huge fireball. The intended target was purportedly the Shahed production facility in Yelabuga, in Russia’s southeastern Tatarstan region. This was confirmed by an unnamed Ukrainian intelligence source, *Reuters* [reported](), and a member of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (GUR) [told]() the *Kyiv Independent* the same. According to initial reports, officials in Kyiv believe that the attack [caused significant damage]() to the facility, although this cannot be independently verified. https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1775066006643228672 Another video shows the blast from a different angle, followed by people running for cover. https://twitter.com/KyivPost/status/1775043102744498193 With a propeller at the front, a braced high wing, conventional tail, and fixed undercarriage, the drone used in the Ukrainian attack appears to be a civilian light aircraft adapted as a one-way attack drone. ![]() *A close-up of the drone used in today’s attack on Yelabuga, in the Tatarstan region. *via X** One possibility is that it is a development of the Ukrainian-made [Aeroprakt A-22](), which is classified as an ultralight and is produced as a factory-built aircraft and as a kit. With maximum fuel, the standard A-22 has a range of around 680 miles, suggesting that, with some modifications, it would be able to cover the distance involved, depending on the weight of the warhead and guidance equipment. ![]() *An Aeroprakt A-22 ultralight flown by a private operator in the United Kingdom. *Arpingstone/Wikimedia Commons** https://www.twitter.com/JulianRoepcke/status/1775056872086675567?s=20 Broadly similar drone designs have been used before by Ukraine for long-range attacks, most notably the [UJ-22](). This is also a single-engine propeller drone but, despite its light aircraft layout, it was developed from scratch, rather than being a modification of an existing platform, and is smaller than a manned type. It has a reported range of around 500 miles, too short for the Tatarstan strikes. In Tatarstan, regional head Rustam Minnikhanov [admitted]() that drones had attacked industrial sites in the region in the early hours — apparently [around]() 5:45 a.m. local time — and that several people had been wounded. “There is no serious damage, the technological process of the enterprises is not disrupted,” Minnikhanov said, although he didn’t specifically mention the drone factory. https://twitter.com/Liveuamap/status/1775051159134187873 Meanwhile, there have also been questions raised as to whether the building struck by the drone was part of the plant manufacturing the Shahed. Russian media reports suggest that the strike in Yelabuga actually hit a dormitory housing workers and that at least 12 students were injured. The Shahed production plant is within a “special economic zone,” an area with a different legal system aimed at attracting foreign investment and including various other industrial facilities. https://twitter.com/COUPSURE/status/1775038635387056228 Regardless, other targets in the wider Tatarstan region also came under attack this morning, including the Taneco oil refinery in Nizhnekamsk, state news agency *RIA* [reported](). https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1775047435603091537 It appears that a different type of drone was used to attack the Taneco refinery, based on an available video that purports to show the wreckage. Some accounts have suggested this is an example of the aforementioned UJ-22, but that does not look to be the case based on the gear and general configuration of the wreckage. https://twitter.com/front_ukrainian/status/1775169103868686796 Whatever the degree of damage to the Shahed plant, the attack shows the potential for Ukraine to disrupt critical war industries deep within Russia. It’s notable, too, that the Shahed factory was apparently targeted at the same time as Russia is making heavy use of these drones [to attack Ukraine’s energy infrastructure](). As well as the military and symbolic value of an attempted attack on the Shahed production plant, along with one of Russia’s biggest refineries, this drone raid is also notable as it is one of the deepest launched by Ukraine into Russian territory. Yelabuga, for example, is roughly 700 miles from the closest Ukrainian border area. Depending on where the drone took off from, it may even be the longest-range attack of its kind ever launched by Ukraine — previous attacks [in and around St. Petersburg]() also involve broadly similar distances. https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1764925851156594936 Despite the distance involved, the drone factory was always going to be an absolute top target for Ukraine. Ever [since October 2022](), Ukraine has come under sustained attack from Iranian-designed Shahed series drones. The importance of this weapon to Moscow’s war in Ukraine prompted moves to establish [a local production effort](). ![]() *Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a residential building in Kyiv destroyed by an Iranian-made Shahed-136 loitering munition. *Photo by Oleksii Chumachenko/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images** Previous reports suggested that Russia had established the drone assembly plant in Tatarstan [by April 2023](), although the initial manufacturing effort seems to have used exclusively Iranian components. As of last August, it [was being reported]() that the Russian plant had “reassembled drones provided by Iran but … itself manufactured only drone bodies, and probably for not more than 300 of the UAVs.” Subsequently, sources in Ukraine stated that the factory will only make the full transition to Russian components [sometime next year](). The ‘Russianization’ of the Shahed has meanwhile also seen the introduction of various improvements to the drones, some of which you can read more about [here]() and [here](). https://twitter.com/Alfaiomi/status/1724795264232526098 Regardless of any technical innovations incorporated in the drones, the sheer number of these weapons that Russia plans to build presents Ukraine with a very serious problem, especially as it struggles to secure [additional air defense systems]() from its allies in the United States and Europe. In August last year, *The Washington Post* [reported]() that Russia plans to “domestically build[ 6,000 drones]() by summer 2025.” https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1692149802761429057 The same report concluded, “the sprawling new drone factory could help Russia preserve its dwindling supply of precision munitions, thwart Ukraine’s effort to retake occupied territory, and dramatically advance Moscow’s position in the drone arms race that is remaking modern warfare.” ![For the first time, we have gotten the chance to see inside the Russian factory where license production of the Iranian Shahed-series one-way attack drone is taking place.]() *Russian-made Shahed-type drones take shape in the factory established in Yelabuga, in Russia’s southeastern Tatarstan region. *via X** Already, Moscow’s use of Shahed drones has brought widespread destruction across much of Ukraine. In the process, the drones have taken a steady toll [on the civilian population](), as well as [hitting critical power infrastructure]() for two winters in a row. Striking at the production facility for these notorious weapons was therefore very a high priority for Ukraine. This is something we laid out in our[ original piece on the Shahed factory,]() stating: *"...The drone factory in Tatarstan, although located 500 miles east of Moscow, is bound to be firmly in the sights of Ukraine, with an attack on the facility threatening the future supply of Russian-made Shaheds. Ukraine is steadily increasing the range at which it can strike targets within Russian borders, including using [sabotage teams]() as well as [long-range drones]() and [missiles]().* *After all, once the Russian Shahed production effort is properly established and scaled-up, Ukraine will not only face the prospect of drone attacks on a larger scale but potentially also the threat of significantly more capable versions of these menacing weapons."* ![]() *A forensic expert stands by a fragment of a kamikaze drone in the Shevchenkivskyi district of Kyiv last year. (Photo credit should read Anatolii Siryk / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)* Whatever the type of drone involved, it points to Ukraine’s growing ability to strike targets very deep within Russia’s borders. In January this year, the Ukrainian military heralded the launch of a “new phase” in the conflict, one that is relying heavily on the country’s recently developed [long-range one-way attack drones](). That campaign began with a round of strikes against targets in [St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region](), exploiting new long-range drone technology, with drones that offer greater reach as well as a higher level of performance and larger payloads, [compared with previous designs](). ![]() *Members of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations take security measures around an apartment block after an alleged drone attack reported in the Krasnogvardeysky district of St. Petersburg, Russia, on March 2, 2024. *Photo by Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images** For long now, Ukraine’s campaign of — fairly sporadic — long-range drone strikes was seen as an act of defiance, a means of best ‘bringing the war home’ to Russia, as well as to offer an alternative means of fighting back as the situation along the front lines continues to stagnate. Now, however, Ukraine is waging a well-organized and concerted campaign against Russian oil infrastructure, in particular. On just [one day last month](), Ukraine sent long-range drones against a dozen Russian oil refineries, reportedly amounting to about 12 percent of its total oil-processing capacity. The effects of this campaign [are already being seen](), with Russian oil companies forced to reduce production, resulting in a spike in global oil prices. https://twitter.com/maria_avdv/status/1775131254779674766 Not surprisingly, the raids on Tatarstan have again raised questions about the efficiency of Russian air defenses, a theme that [has come up repeatedly]() since Ukraine first launched long-range drone strikes on its territory. While the air defense forces are clearly stretched very thin due to the war in Ukraine and the requirement to cover the highest-priority objectives, [not least the capital](), it should also be recalled that detecting and destroying low- and slow-flying targets can be difficult — something that was as [true in Soviet times]() as it is today. But the Shahed factory is of such high military importance, it is very strange that point defenses were not present — or at least active — when the strike took place. https://twitter.com/Zeddary/status/1775171882729209896 Now that Ukraine is better able to launch long-range drone strikes, it also means it can hit back against far-flung critical military targets, too, including the Shahed production facility. Regardless of the success or otherwise of this strike, if Russia thought that establishing a drone factory 500 miles east of Moscow would provide some element of protection, today’s events will force them to reevaluate that notion. *Contact the author: [thomas@thewarzone.com]()* ## Author Thomas Newdick is a staff writer at *TWZ*, where he covers military aviation, defense technology, weapons systems, and international security. Based in Berlin, Germany, he reports on conflicts, military modernization efforts, and emerging aerospace technologies around the world, with a particular interest in airpower and its role in contemporary warfare. His reporting is informed by deep expertise in modern and historical airpower, particularly in Europe, with a focus on military aviation, air campaigns, and aerospace developments across the continent and beyond. Over a journalism career spanning more than 25 years, Thomas has become known for making complex defense and aerospace topics accessible to a broad audience. His reporting combines technical expertise, historical context, and a focus on the real-world operational and strategic implications of military developments. ### Author social links [Twitter]()