WSJ: Russia is developing new cheap weapons faster than Ukraine or the US

TASHKENT, September 15 — Sputnik. Russia is producing new, relatively cheap and technological weapons faster than Ukraine and the US.

This was reported by "The Wall Street Journal". An analogous article was also published in "Hindustan Times".

The publication cites examples of new generation jet drones "Geran-5" and cruise missiles "Banderol". According to WSJ, Russia developed both systems by improving previous designs, conducting tests in combat conditions, and then rapidly expanding production over several years.

Analysts told the newspaper that the cycle of transitioning from the idea and testing of new weapons to mass production occurs faster in Russia than in Western countries. According to WSJ estimates, each of the "Geran-5" and "Banderol" cruise missiles costs about $100,000. ## Key Details and Important Information For comparison, the price of the American "Tomahawk" cruise missile and similar high-class missiles exceeds $2 million.

Russian engineers have gradually improved the speed, navigation, and communication systems of the drones. ## Key Details and Important Information The publication notes that in terms of characteristics, the "Geran-5" is closer to a cruise missile than to a simple propeller drone. The publication states that the low cost and mass production create an economic problem for air defense systems: expensive missiles have to be spent on relatively cheap targets.

This trend is also shown by data from Reuters on September 15. The agency, citing Ukrainian military data, reports that Russia has increased the use of jet drones nearly sixfold in three months.

In June, about 450 drones were used at speeds of 240–500 km/h, while in August their number rose to nearly 2,850. Ukrainian military personnel acknowledge that their existing cheap drone interceptors are not sufficiently effective against high-speed jet aircraft.