Russia is expanding the Alabuga carbon-fiber plant, raising projected drone output by 78%
According to internal Rosatom documents collected by the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation, Russia is expanding the Alabuga-Volokno plant in Tatarstan to produce an additional 500 tons of aerospace-grade carbon fiber per year by 2029. Experts cited by Politico estimate this could enable around 28,000 additional long-range Shahed/Geran-type strike drones per year, a roughly 78% increase over current capacity of more than 36,000 such drones annually. Alabuga-Volokno and its parent Umatex Group are under US, UK and other Western sanctions, yet construction is moving ahead and targeted for completion in 2027.
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- Alabuga-Volokno in Tatarstan is expanding to produce an additional 500 tons of military-grade aerospace carbon fiber per year by 2029, according to internal Rosatom documents.
- Experts cited by Politico estimate the added carbon fiber could support around 28,000 additional long-range strike drones per year, about a 78% increase over current capacity.
- Russia is currently capable of producing more than 36,000 Shahed/Geran-type kamikaze drones per year, according to Ukrainian data.
- Alabuga-Volokno is described as the only Russian producer of the carbon fiber used for long-range drone airframes; it and its parent Umatex Group are under US, UK and other Western sanctions.
- The Russian government approved the new production line in May; construction is targeted for completion in 2027, and satellite imagery from May–July shows land next to the plant being cleared.
- Internal Rosatom transport documents indicate a 46-ton shipment of carbon-fiber chemical precursors from China's Jilin Chemical Fiber Group was delivered to Alabuga-Volokno with the cargo described as civilian goods.
- Russia's stated national targets are roughly 130,000 drones per year by 2030 and 350,000 per year by 2035 under its 'Unmanned Aviation Systems' project.
- The US House Select Committee on China and the Ukrainian government have reviewed the internal Rosatom documents and confirmed their authenticity.
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Alabuga-Volokno is the only Russian facility producing the carbon fiber used in long-range drone airframes, so its expansion acts as a force multiplier for Russian strike-drone output. Analysts cited in the documents estimate the new capacity could enable roughly 28,000 additional Shahed/Geran-type drones per year, on top of an existing base of more than 36,000 annually, with knock-on implications for attacks deep inside Ukrainian cities. Russian state targets of 130,000 drones per year by 2030 and 350,000 by 2035 show the expansion is one step in a multi-year industrial scaling. The project is advancing despite US, UK and other Western sanctions on Alabuga-Volokno and its parent Umatex Group, and Russian government approval was granted in May, with construction scheduled for completion in 2027.
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Internal Rosatom documents, collected by the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation and authenticated by the Ukrainian government and the US House Select Committee on China, show that the Alabuga-Volokno plant in Tatarstan is being expanded to add 500 tons of aerospace-grade carbon fiber per year by 2029. Experts cited by Politico estimate this added output could support production of an additional 28,000 long-range strike drones per year, roughly a 78% increase over Russia's current capacity of more than 36,000 Shahed/Geran-type kamikaze drones per year. The Russian government approved the new production line in May, and satellite imagery from May to July and again in August shows land adjacent to the plant being cleared and the foundation of the new facility being prepared, with construction targeted for completion in 2027. The documents also reference a 46-ton shipment of carbon-fiber chemical precursors from China's Jilin Chemical Fiber Group, described on the central paperwork as other goods; the Chinese Embassy in Washington said it had no knowledge of the expansion plans and that China 'strictly controls the export of dual-use goods in accordance with the law.' Rosatom's stated reasons for the expansion include 'import substitution of dual-use products' and meeting demand from Russian aviation and defense industries. Alabuga-Volokno and its parent Umatex Group are under sanctions from the United States, the United Kingdom and other Western countries. Separately, the Ukrainian OSINT project Dnipro Osint has reported that Russia is building underground strike-drone workshops at the Alabuga special economic zone, with around 42,000 square meters already constructed.
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All of the articles in the supplied set are Ukrainian outlets, and they frame the expansion uniformly as a direct threat to Ukrainian cities, using terms such as 'kamikaze drones' and 'attacks on Ukrainian cities' in headlines. Coverage highlights the scale of the projected increase — 78%, 28,000 additional drones, or 'nearly 80%' — and several describe Alabuga as a 'drone factory' rather than primarily a carbon-fiber facility. The Ukrainian institutional role in exposing the plans is foregrounded, with the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation (UCCS) repeatedly cited as the source of the internal Rosatom files. Sources consistently use the term 'Shahed' for the drones.
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No international outlets are present in the supplied article set; the framing here comes from Politico's reporting as relayed by Ukrainian media. That relayed content gives more prominence to expert commentary, including David Albright of the Institute for Science and International Security and Stacey Pettyjohn of the Center for a New American Security, and to the Chinese dimension via Jilin Chemical Fiber Group and the Chinese Embassy's denial. It also situates the expansion within Russia's stated national 'Unmanned Aviation Systems' targets of 130,000 drones per year by 2030 and 350,000 by 2035. Drone nomenclature in this strand tends toward 'Shahed/Geran-type' or simply 'Geran,' and some headlines specifically describe the relevant drones as 'jet-powered strike drones' linked to the carbon-fiber expansion.
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Ukrainian sources disagree on when the alleged disguised Chinese shipment of carbon-fiber precursors to Alabuga-Volokno took place: most accounts, including hromadske and Ukrinform, place the 46-ton delivery in early September 2026, while one variant of the reporting, carried by ZN.UA, dates it to early 2024. Ukrainian outlets also differ in how they label the drones, with some consistently using 'Shahed' and others, particularly when relaying international framing, using 'Shahed/Geran-type' or simply 'Geran'; certain headlines specifically describe them as 'jet-powered strike drones' tied to the carbon-fiber expansion.
الخلفية
The internal Rosatom documents underlying the report were gathered by the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation (UCCS) and authenticated by the Ukrainian government and the US House Select Committee on China. According to the documents, Russia's official reasons for the expansion are 'import substitution of dual-use products' and meeting demand from Russian aviation and defense industries for carbon fiber. Satellite imagery from May through July, and again in August according to weapons expert David Albright, shows land adjacent to the existing plant being cleared and the foundation of the new facility being prepared. Underground strike-drone workshops are also reportedly being built at the Alabuga special economic zone, with the Ukrainian OSINT project Dnipro Osint citing around 42,000 square meters already constructed. In September 2025, UMATEX CEO Oleksandr Tyunin died by suicide in the Moscow region; a hunting rifle and a note citing long-term depression were found near his body.