In 2022, the Shahed cost 200-300 thousand dollars in Russia, now it is three times cheaper

Russians are actively scaling up production of Shahed drones. The main goal is to reduce costs and increase production volumes. And they are succeeding.  The cost has become much lower than Iran sold them to Russia at the beginning of the war.

The Russian military-industrial complex is increasing the production of long-range kamikaze drones of the Shahed type and plans to increase monthly production to more than 6,000 drones per month (more than 200 per day or more than 72,000 per year) – and, accordingly, with the growth of production rates, as well as due to a number of other factors, these drones are now available to Russians at a much cheaper price than they were in 2022.

CNN, citing Ukrainian military intelligence, notes that this year, thanks to drone production at Alabuga, the cost of a single Shahed has dropped to $70,000.

The CSIS analytical center in February estimated the cost of a Shahed at approximately $35,000, ad by May, its experts indicated that the price could range between $20,000 and $50,000.

It is difficult to verify these figures with certainty, but it can be assumed that the $20,000 estimate for a Shahed seems understated. In contrast, the $50,000–$70,000 range appears more realistic.

For comparison, the Ukrainian long-range drone FP‑1 costs about $55,000 per unit, and approximately 100 units are produced per day.

The Russians have managed to significantly reduce the cost of their own drones, which they use for terrorist purposes. In particular, to lower costs, they use engines without starters or flywheels.

If we take the $70,000 figure as a reference, this represents a reduction of almost three times compared to the price at the end of 2022 – beginning of 2023.

It should be recalled that the initial cost of a Shahed, according to documents leaked by hackers about the Iran-Russia long-range drone project, was over $370,000. For orders of 2,000 units, the price dropped to $290,000, and for 6,000 units, to $193,000—which is effectively the price at which Russians were purchasing Shaheds for a period of time.