Russia builds new jet-drone base near Ukraine in six weeks, satellite images show

Russia has nearly completed a major new launch base for jet-powered drones in the Rostov region in just six weeks, according to defence experts and a Reuters analysis of satellite imagery from Planet Labs and Airbus.

The site was an empty field on 31 August. By Wednesday it had grown into a complex spanning the equivalent of around 126 football pitches, the imagery shows.

Mike Monnik, founder and CEO of private intelligence company DroneSec, said the facility would be capable of launching the Geran-4 and Geran-5 models — Russia's newest jet-powered drone types. He identified eight launch-rail platforms on the western edge of the site, adding to an existing Russian network of at least 11 comparable facilities.

The construction coincides with a surge in Russian jet-powered drone use against Ukraine. Those weapons can travel at up to 600 kilometres per hour, making them harder for Ukrainian air defences to intercept than slower models.

With the full-scale war in its fifth year, Kyiv expects Russia to intensify jet-drone and missile attacks through the winter. The new base represents a significant expansion of that capability at a time when Ukrainian forces are already struggling to counter the faster weapons.