Russia's Alabuga plant increases drone production for war, employing teenagers, African women

According to CNN, satellite images reveal the factory’s expansion, with two new buildings added between March and September, increasing its size by 55%. 

Alabuga is now Russia’s main producer of the Shahed-136 drone and has also been manufacturing decoy drones since the summer.

As Russia’s workforce has been strained by casualties and the loss of fighting-age men, Alabuga has turned to low-skilled labor, hiring Russian teens through Alabuga Polytechnic, a technical school on-site, and recruiting young African women via an online program called "Alabuga Start." 

The factory promotes high salaries, technological skills, and the opportunity for Russian men to avoid military service, making it an attractive option during wartime, CNN reports.

• A warehouse storing components for 400 Shahed-136 drones, including homing system elements, was destroyed in Russia’s Alabuga economic zone, Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) announced on December 23.