Russia Opens Marine Drone Production Center in St. Petersburg

Russia has opened a centralized production facility for marine drones at the Kingisepp Machine-Building Plant (KMZ) in St. Petersburg, according to Mikhail Danilenko, the managing director of the enterprise.

The shipbuilding facility, which specializes in propulsion systems and small vessels, plans to produce dozens of unmanned surface vessels (USVs) for civilian use.

“Several projects are underway to supply marine drones for civilian tasks,” said Danilenko. “This includes cooperation with regional administrations, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and Rostransnadzor to enable unmanned monitoring and law enforcement on inland waterways.”

In addition to civilian contracts, the enterprise is also engaged in military drone production under a state defense order. In 2024, KMZ received RUB 2.7 billion (€27 million) in investment to support the initiative.

To support drone manufacturing, the facility includes a testing complex for control and communications systems, as well as an indoor testing pool for year-round product trials. New workshops for hull construction, propulsion system assembly, and related equipment have also been built.

KMZ previously announced it would produce a significant share of marine drones for Russia’s defense industry, including the hulls, engines, and propulsion units. In the case of attack drones, propulsion typically relies on domestically produced water-jet systems, which KMZ claims to have fully localized.

The company’s in-house R&D division, the Radio Engineering Research and Development Center, will also focus on developing autonomous control systems capable of operating in communication-denied environments.

In September 2023, KMZ began serial production of the Vizir, a heavy marine drone developed by St. Petersburg Polytechnic University.

The drone is claimed to be built from aluminum alloys and composite materials.

Measuring 7 meters in length and weighing 2.4 tons, it can reach speeds of up to 45 km/h and operate at distances of up to 270 miles (approximately 500 km). It can be controlled autonomously via onboard algorithms or manually by an operator.