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DOI: 10.15862/13FAOR425 (https://doi.org/10.15862/13FAOR425)

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Kornev D.V. Comparative analysis of economic components of unmanned aerial vehicles in the armed forces of Russia and foreign armies. Russian journal of resources, conservation and recycling. 2025; 12(s4). Available at: https://resources.today/PDF/13FAOR425.pdf (in Russian). DOI: 10.15862/13FAOR425

Comparative analysis of economic components of unmanned aerial vehicles in the armed forces of Russia and foreign armies

Kornev Denis Vadimovich
Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia
E-mail: 226253@edu.fa.ru; romancmh13@gmail.com

Academic adviser: Akhmetov Minnegaley Gizyatovich
Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia
Military Training Center named after Professor, Major General S.M. Ermakov
E-mail: mgahmetov@fa.ru; amg330@mail.ru

Abstract. Modern military economy is characterized by a fundamental transformation of approaches to forming the defense potential of states through the active implementation of unmanned aerial vehicles, which have evolved from experimental military equipment samples into a key element of modern armed forces, determining the nature and outcome of 21st-century military conflicts. The study is devoted to a comprehensive comparative analysis of the economic aspects of development, production, and operation of military unmanned aerial vehicles in the armed forces of Russia and foreign countries. The subject of the research is the economic parameters of the military UAV life cycle, including development costs, production costs, operating expenses, as well as the cost-effectiveness ratio of various types of unmanned systems. Current trends in the development of the global military UAV market are considered, the dynamics of military expenditures of leading states on unmanned systems is analyzed, and national programs for the development of unmanned aviation are studied in the context of their economic efficiency. The analysis demonstrates significant differences in approaches to forming the economic model of UAV production between market-leading countries, with critical factors determining the competitiveness of national manufacturers in the global military drone market identified. It has been established that the Russian military UAV market demonstrates unprecedented growth rates with a 10-fold increase in production volumes for the period 2023–2024 with a total market volume of 250 billion rubles. The developed matrix of comparative economic analysis of the main types of military UAVs allows assessing the ratio of combat effectiveness and economic costs for various classes of drones from FPV drones worth 20–50 thousand rubles to strategic reconnaissance systems worth over 10 billion rubles. The scientific novelty of the research lies in identifying and systematizing the economic factors of military UAV competitiveness, developing a methodology for comparative assessment of the economic efficiency of various types of unmanned systems, as well as determining key economic trends in the development of global and Russian military drone markets. The practical significance of the work is determined by the possibility of applying the obtained results to optimize government spending on unmanned aviation development, form import substitution strategies in UAV production, and develop economically justified programs for rearming the armed forces with modern unmanned systems.

Keywords: unmanned aerial vehicles; military economy; defense spending; military UAVs; life cycle cost; military-industrial complex; FPV drones; import substitution; military spending efficiency; global arms market

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