Russian defence ministry to set up drone development centre

Russia's defence ministry will set up a science and production centre for drones and "robotic complexes", Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Saturday, according to the ministry.

Shoigu was inspecting a testing range for firearms and drones in the Moscow military district, the defence ministry said.

The conflict in Ukraine has been characterised by drone deployment of unprecedented scale, with thousands of unmanned aerial vehicles used to track enemy forces, guide artillery and bomb targets.

The tiny, inexpensive FPV (first-person view) drone has proved to be one of the most potent weapons in this war, where conventional warplanes are relatively rare because of a dense concentration of anti-aircraft systems near front lines.

At the testing range, Shoigu was shown firearms for tackling such drones as well as a combat quadcopter designed to set up mines.