INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
agreement, specialists at the Alabuga special economic zone in the republic of Tatarstan assemble prefabricated drone parts delivered from
Iran which are labeled as "Belarusian boats," according to internal planning documents.Anonymous sources and documents cited by Protokol and
Razvorot reveal that certain parts of the drones will eventually be manufactured locally, with the production process planned to be fully
automated in Russia over the next two to three years.The investigative outlets, citing documents signed by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu
and forwarded to President Vladimir Putin, estimate the Russian-Iranian contract's cost at between 115 million ($1.3 million) and 130
million rubles ($1.5 million).In March, the Alabuga economic zone reportedly assembled around 70 Iranian Shahed drones, which would appear
with plans to expand the facility to over 100,000 square meters as the Russian-Iranian deal advances into its second and third stages.Senior
managers at the special economic zone traveled to Iran in March as part of efforts by Tehran to train more than 200 Russian specialists on
assembling and adapting the drones for Moscow's war needs, according to Protokol and Razvorot.Last month, the U.S
operational in early 2024.The Kremlin has repeatedly denied using Iranian drones to attack Ukraine.
