Call it a sign of the times for the Russian economy. A shopping mall is being turned into a factory to make kamikaze or suicide drones. At the same time, teenagers are being forced to build the weapons of war.

1/ Parents of teenagers at Alabuga Polytechnic in Tatarstan say their children are being exploited to work long hours building Shahed kamikaze drones in dangerous conditions. Some parents are rescuing their children from the facility, despite facing large fines for doing so. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/rS71uLycAK

— ChrisO_wiki (@ChrisO_wiki) August 10, 2023

Russia is using unmanned aerial vehicles like the Lancet and Shahed-136 in Ukraine to a devastating effect. Designed in Iran, Shaheds have to be pre-programmed before launch, so they’re typically used to strike fixed targets like buildings. Lancets are a little more maneuverable and are used mostly against moving targets like tanks and armored vehicles.

Russia didn’t invest heavily in domestic drone production before Vladimir Putin launched his invasion on Ukraine. The Russians are trying to play catch up now. That’s why Aeroscan bought the Italmas shopping mall in Izhevsk with plans to turn the building into a new drone manufacturing facility. Aeroscan announced on its Telegram channel it would make a new type of drone called the Izdelie 54, or Product 54.

Ukraine, Russia using weapons from World War I

Aeroscan is headed by Nikita Zakharov, the son of Alexander Zakharov. The elder Zakharov holds a controlling interest in Zala Aero Group, the company that makes Lancets. According to reporting in Forbes, it is unlikely Nikita Zakharov would make a drone that would directly compete with the Lancet, which is why the Izdelie 54 is being designed to have a greater range than the Lancet. Aeroscan’s announcement on Telegram seems to coincide with this belief. Aeroscan said the Izdelie is designed to destroy military equipment and manpower ‘located at a considerable distance.”

Air Force Research Lab unleashed THOR on drone swarm

While work continues to develop new drones, Russia is ramping up production on current designs as well. Through a partnership with Iran, Russia is now building Shahed-136 drones domestically. Iran initially denied supplying Russia with the weapons, claiming the Islamic Republic was neutral in the war. That claim was proven false almost immediately. Russia started using the drones, which it calls Geran-2s, in the early days of the war and hasn’t stopped.

Iran using commercial airliners to ship drones to Russia

A new factory in Tatarstan was built specifically for manufacturing Gerans, and many of the workers are teenagers, some as young as 15. According to Protokol, the Russian human rights group that first reported on the labor practices, teenage girls from Africa and Central Asia are being recruited to work at the facility through dating apps.

Protokol reported most of the young workers are students brought in from the nearby Alabuga Polytechnic College, a STEM school that purports to give its students unrivaled opportunities in technical fields.

Needing soldiers, Russia readies to mobilize university students

However, instead of spending their days studying, the students are reportedly forced to work 12-hour days, five days a week building the drones. There are also reports of students being shot with paintball guns at close range to “weed out the weaker ones.”

If a student leaves the school or refuses to participate, the family faces a fine up to $4,200, a sum most in Russia can’t afford to pay.

The Alabuga factory in Tatarstan produces around 200 drones a month. The Russians said they hope to raise that number to more than 4000 a month by the summer of 2025.

US Air Force finding future airmen at FPV drone races