Russia has established a new base for launching jet-powered “Geran” drones near the village of Tsymbulova in the Oryol region, roughly 150–200 kilometres from the border with Ukraine.
This is reported by the British newspaper The Telegraph, citing an analysis of satellite imagery.
Construction of launch pads at the site began in early 2026. As of August, 16 launchers had already been installed there, and more than 100 drones were being stored in the open.
Solar panels have also been installed on the site. According to the newspaper, this could allow the base to operate autonomously in the event of power supply disruptions.
Tsymbulova’s location makes it possible to use the base to launch drones towards Kyiv and Ukraine’s central regions.
Robert Tollast, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), noted that centralising launches could make it easier for Russia to organise large-scale attacks.
“Planning mass salvos of hundreds and hundreds of drones is quite a complex logistical task. It is difficult to plan the different routes the systems will take and to co-ordinate each of them from different locations. So centralising in one place really does make it logistically simpler,” he explained.
In the newspaper’s assessment, over the past two years Russia has changed its tactics for using strike drones: relatively slow drones have been supplemented by faster models that are harder to intercept.
According to The Telegraph, the base at Tsymbulova has been part of this transformation.
The largest drone of this generation is the “Geran-5”, which, according to the newspaper, is launched from Tsymbulova. It can carry a warhead weighing up to 90 kg, travel up to 1,000 km and reach speeds of up to 600 km/h.
Russian “Geran” UAVs
- “Geran” is a modernised version of the Iranian “Shahed” drones, production of which Russia first began in 2023.
- The first generation, the “Geran-1”, carries a warhead weighing up to 20 kg and has a top speed of 185 km/h.
- The jet-powered “Geran-5”, reportedly first used by Russia in January this year, can fly at speeds of up to 600 km/h, carrying a 90 kg warhead over a range of up to 1,000 km.
- The “Geran-4” uses a more aerodynamic version of the original airframe, while the “Geran-5” has a new design closer to a cruise missile. The upgrade is not limited to speed and shape: older “Gerans” had rudimentary guidance systems, whereas the new versions are equipped with thermal-imaging cameras and AI-based guidance systems, Russian anti-jamming antennas and Chinese mesh radio-network modems.
- Centralised production has enabled the Kremlin to adapt the drones, incorporate lessons from their use and rapidly roll out new models. The cost of these drones is only a fraction of the cost of the missiles that previously formed the backbone of Russia’s air attacks.
- According to experts, the Russians effectively skipped the lengthy testing phase that is usually required for any military equipment development process. Each change was implemented immediately in the systems and sent straight to the battlefield. If something did not work, they simply fixed it on the fly without changing production.
- The new drones are more expensive and more complex to launch than earlier models, but are still cheaper than the Kalibr and Kh-101 cruise missiles that Russia has been firing at Ukraine since 2022. This allows Moscow to strike a wider range of targets.