Russia’s defense ministry is set to purchase $9.1 billion unmanned aerial vehicles to add to the 500 drones currently used for communications, reconnaissance and signal transmission, Pravda.Ru reported Thursday.
Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defense minister, said funding came from the state armaments program that goes through 2020.
According to the report, the Russian army will acquire Orlan, Tachyon, Aileron and other drone types from Kazan, Russia-based defense firm Enix.
“Drones are not toys and we are not going to operate them as other countries do. It is not a video game,” said Vladamir Putin, Russian president, last month.
Russia ordered 34 Aileron-3SV drones for an estimated $2.8 million in December.
