Satellite imagery shows Russia is dramatically expanding its only strategic bomber production facility just weeks after Ukraine’s devastating drone strikes wiped out dozens of aircraft across Russian territory.
Finnish broadcaster YLE reported that new construction at the Kazan Aviation Plant has added 19,000 square meters of production space since winter—equivalent to three football fields—based on Planet Labs satellite analysis.
But is the investment worth it? Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb destroyed at least 10 strategic bombers in a single night—more than double Russia’s annual production from its premier military factory.
Production crisis exposed
How many bombers did Russia’s premier military factory deliver in 2024? Four. Two modernized Tu-160M aircraft and two new Tu-160M2 models, according to YLE’s analysis.
Former Finnish intelligence officer Marko Eklund, who analyzed the satellite imagery, told YLE the expansion “will not solve the problems of the aviation industry and the industry as a whole.”
Why not? Russia cannot produce new Tu-160s or Tu-95s—only repair Soviet-era ones, defense experts explain. The aircraft Ukraine destroyed in June’s operation cannot be replaced through new production.
Ukraine targets what Kazan builds
What does the Kazan facility actually produce? The Tu-160 and Tu-22M3 bombers that launch cruise missiles at Ukrainian cities every night.
Ukraine’s 1 June Spiderweb operation specifically targeted these aircraft types at five airfields spanning 4,300 kilometers. Ukrainian operatives smuggled 117 drones into Russia, concealing them in wooden cabins mounted on trucks that opened remotely near target airfields.
The results forced Russia to relocate surviving bombers to the Far East, with Tu-95 missions now requiring 23-hour flights to reach Ukrainian targets.
Frontline report: Ukrainian Spiderweb operation triggers mass paranoia as Russia hunts threats in every truck
Soviet components, modern problems
Can Russia replace the bombers Ukraine destroyed? Many cannot be replaced at all. The Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers went out of production when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
What Russia calls “new” aircraft are merely refurbished Soviet-era units assembled from decades-old components. Russia’s aging bomber fleet struggles with maintenance and replacement challenges.
Even civilian aircraft production falters. YLE reported that Kazan received orders for 23 Tu-214 passenger jets but delivered only one in 2025, forcing Aeroflot to threaten order cancellations.
Building targets for Ukrainian drones
So why expand the factory at all? Russia’s €1 billion investment reflects confidence that production constraints, rather than vulnerability to attack, limit aviation capabilities.
Ukrainian operations suggest otherwise. The investment cannot address component shortages, skilled workforce deficits, or aircraft susceptibility to increasingly sophisticated Ukrainian long-range strikes.
Ukraine has repeatedly targeted the Kazan plant itself, with drone strikes hitting the city in December 2024 and January 2025 as part of a broader campaign against Russian military-industrial facilities.
As Ukraine’s strike capabilities develop, Russia’s fixed infrastructure investments risk becoming expensive facilities that build high-value targets for systematic elimination.
