Russia has offered to set up drone production in Uzbekistan.

Mikhail Mishustin, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, announced this yesterday during the joint commission meeting at the level of the heads of government of both countries.

According to him, Moscow and Tashkent are considering the possibility of localizing the production of allegedly civilian unmanned aerial vehicles and their components in the country.

“We are studying the possibilities of organizing high-tech polymer production and localizing the production of civilian unmanned aerial systems and their components,” Mishustyn said.

At the same time, the Prime Minister of the aggressor country did not specify which allegedly civilian UAVs were involved.

It is reported that the Uzbek military is currently armed with an export version of the Russian Orlan-10E reconnaissance drone.

UAV production in Uzbekistan

It is worth noting that in 2022, Uzbekistan announced the launch of its own unmanned aerial vehicle called Lochin with the ability to take off and land vertically.

It was noted that these drones can be used for both military and civilian purposes.

During the presentation of the Uzbek drone, it was stated that the Lochin drone could be used for reconnaissance, strikes, real-time surveillance, information gathering, and artillery fire control.

UAVs are manufactured by the Research and Production Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, which was established by the State Defense Industry. The center is equipped with technological and special equipment and a test laboratory for unmanned aerial vehicles’ production, assembly, repair, and maintenance.

Also, in November last year, it was reported that Uzbekistan had become an operator of Turkish Bayraktar TB2 attack drones by Baykar.

In addition, it purchased a large military reconnaissance and strike drone, the Wing Loong 1, from China.