Russia’s leading drone maker nears collapse

Defence affairs - Def-Geopolitics

One of Russia’s largest drone manufacturers, AO Kronstadt, is on the verge of bankruptcy after months of financial turmoil and mounting lawsuits, Russian media reported.

According to CNews, the company has faced dozens of debt claims in recent months, with more than 600 million rubles ($7 million) sought since the beginning of summer. The largest cases involve lawsuits from LLC Innovative Technologies and Materials for 151.1 million rubles and AO Research Institute of Modern Telecommunications Technologies for 220.6 million rubles.

By May, total claims against the company had already reached one billion rubles, highlighting the growing financial pressure on the manufacturer of the “Orion” and “Inokhodets” drones—systems often compared to the American MQ-9 Reaper.

Industry sources told CNews that Kronstadt has been in difficulty for two years, with the problems traced to the 2022 exit of its key shareholder, AFK Sistema. Without that support, debt levels escalated rapidly.

Sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union have further strained the company, cutting access to critical foreign-made components and inflating costs. At the same time, large state contracts placed heavy production demands on Kronstadt at a moment when supply chains were already under stress.

Nikolai Ryashin, general director of Rusdronport, suggested the company is headed toward collapse.