Özet:

This study aims to reveal Russian Federation's (RF) capabilities of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)/armed unmanned aerial vehicle (UCAV) systems, efforts to develop UAV/UCAV systems, and how it uses existing UAV/UCAV capabilities in military operations. The main claim of the study is that RF is not advanced in long-range and medium/high altitude UAV/UCAV systems, but it follows various policies in order to eliminate the aforementioned capability deficiencies in a short time. Considering the RF military power parameters, it is generally among the leading countries of the world in every field. However, the capabilities of RF's UAV and UCAV systems are the exception to this situation. RF remained relatively uninterested in UAV/UCAV systems for various reasons in the 1990s and 2000s. For this reason, it cannot sufficiently benefit from the force multiplier effect created by the UAV/UCAV systems in the battlefield. RF, which is at a certain level in tactical UAV systems, needs long range, medium and high altitude UAV/UCAV systems. In this context, the projects started in the 2010s have gained momentum in recent years. Today, the RF is trying to meet its urgent needs for UAVs / UCAVs with its own means, and if it is not possible, tries to procure it from countries such as Iran. If RF can realize the planned UAV/UCAV projects, it will become an important UAV/UCAV manufacturer and user in the near future. The most challenging issue for Moscow in this regard is the sanctions imposed on RF by the USA and Western countries due to Ukraine.

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