Defense Express expert analyzes Russian military production rates amid war

Ivan Kyrychevskyi has shared insights into Russia's military-industrial production, pointing out both its strengths and limitations amid the ongoing conflict.

Kyrychevskyi noted that Russia can produce about 200 new tanks annually, which is four times more than Germany's production capacity.

“We can feel cautiously optimistic because our military is wearing down the enemy's potential. Earlier, we thought that the Russians had so many tanks that they would pass through our territory like a hot knife through butter. But now it turns out that they have reached the point where they are switching to “jihad vehicles.” There are still some grounds for cautious optimism, despite the fact that the Russians have switched to three production shifts, and in some respects their military-industrial complex is performing better than the entire Western defense industry,” he said. 

Additionally, Russia manufactures at least 25 combat aircraft per year, excluding trainer or transport planes. However, in artillery systems, Russia has resorted to mounting old Soviet howitzers on new wheeled chassis, indicating a mobilization variant rather than new production.

Kyrychevskyi also addressed the resilience of Russia’s defense production despite international sanctions.

“Despite the sanctions, Russians have a consistently high production rate. It is known that the Russian military-industrial complex employs up to 3.5 million people, for example, compared to 300,000 in Ukraine's defense industry. On the other hand, Russians need so many people in the military-industrial complex because manual labor prevails there, even for the assembly of tanks. The Russian Uralvagonzavod, which is considered the largest, employs 12,000 people. At the same pace as the Americans, the Russians need several tens of thousands more people to produce new tanks,” the military expert commented.

Additionally, he mentioned recent attacks on Russian defense facilities. 

"Drone strikes have targeted major plants like the Smolensk Aviation Plant, which employs 4,500 workers, and the Kazan Aviation Plant with 8,000 workers," Kyrychevskyi revealed.

Despite the scale of its defense workforce, Russia’s production capacity is supplemented by North Korea.

"North Korea’s military-industrial complex, with 200 ammunition factories, is bolstering Russian supplies," Kyrychevskyi emphasized.