Unmanned Systems Forces (Russia)
The Unmanned Systems Forces is a branch of the Russian Armed Forces dedicated to drone warfare. It was established on 11 November 2025.
The Unmanned Systems Forces conduct drone warfare using unmanned military drones on land, sea, and air. The establishment of the VBS is a formal recognition by the Russian military of the centrality of drone warfare and autonomous systems in contemporary conflicts, as well as Russian efforts to reorganise training, force structure, development, and provisioning related to drone warfare.
History
The idea of establishing a separate military branch of the Russian military dedicated to unmanned system dates back to 16 December 2024. Minister of Defence Andrey Belousov stated on that occasion that the branch would be established in the third quarter of 2025, with a scope beyond the unmanned aerial vehicles. In June 2024, Ukraine had already created its own Unmanned Systems Forces as drone warfare became a central facet of the Russo-Ukrainian war.According to the Institute for the Study of War, Russia began creating separate drone military units as early as late January 2025, with the first drone regiment being presented at the 2025 Moscow Victory Day Parade. In June 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a rapid development of the unmanned systems branch.
On 11 November 2025, the deputy head of the Unmanned Systems Forces, Colonel Sergey Ishtuganov, announced that the branch has finished its formation and is fully operational. According to BBC Russia, the branch is commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Yuri Vaganov, a former businessman and one of the main suppliers of FPV drones to the Russian military.
According to Russian military journalist Dmitry Steshin, the establishment of the Unmanned Systems Forces happened more quickly than other branches, having built on the progress made by DPR and LPR People's Militias.
Kyiv-based defence reporter Kollen Post links the establishment of the Unmanned Systems Forces as a separate branch to the attempt of the Russian military to organise under a more efficient system various autonomous, and spontaneous, units and industrial initiatives which sprang up in the earlier periods of the Russo-Ukrainian war.
Structure
In the Russian military, the Unmanned Systems Forces are classified as a combat arm, similar to Motor Rifle or Coastal Troops, rather than a service branch, such as the Ground Forces or the Navy. The Conflict Intelligence Team suggested that it would be responsible for centralised training and supply for drone operators, as well as combat analysis and research and development of new systems, while its units would be subordinate to various armed forces formations.As of November 2025, the size of the branch was estimated at around 10,000–20,000 servicemen. On 6 January 2026, Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi claimed that the Russian Unmanned Systems Forces "already number" 80,000 servicemen with plans to expand to 165,500 servicemen by sometime in 2026 and further expand to nearly 210,000 servicemen by 2030.
According to Colonel Sergey Ishtuganov, the VBS includes fully organised regiments, units, and a designated command structure. A Higher Military School of Unmanned Systems is to be established in 2026. Center for Advanced Unmanned Technologies "Rubicon" is the premier unit of the branch.
Active units
- 7th Separate Reconnaissance-strike Regiment of Unmanned systems
- 71st Separate Regiment of Unmanned systems
- 75th Separate Regiment of Unmanned systems
- 77th Separate Regiment of Unmanned systems
- Separate regiment of unmanned systems "Burevestnik"
- Center for Advanced Unmanned Technologies "Rubicon"
- Special Purpose Center "Bars-Sarmat"