Rusia is constructing a network of ten secret drone bases equipped with long-range launch ramps capable of reaching NATO territory, intelligence officials and satellite analysis reveal. While current operations target Ukraine, the new launch sites and advanced jet-powered drone variants signal a significant escalation in Moscow’s military infrastructure. The deployment marks an important increase in Russia’s capacity to launch massive drone attacks.
Ten Secret Bases and New Launch Ramps Identified Near Borders
Intelligence officials from Europe and the United States have identified a network of ten secret bases established by Russia along the border with Belarus and Ukraine. According to an investigation published by the British newspaper The Telegraph, the Kremlin has equipped these facilities with newly constructed launch platforms designed for long-range attack drones. Officials from Europe and the United States believe that Russia contemplates the possibility of carrying out new armed provocations on Polish soil, or missile and drone attacks against critical infrastructure.
Satellite imagery analysis reveals that the infrastructure development involves a mix of reconverted military facilities and civil airports, alongside additional launch platforms enabled in rural areas of Russia. An investigation published by The Telegraph, based on leaked documents, satellite images, and analysis by unmanned systems specialists, identified at least 59 new launch ramps across different Russian installations close to Belarus and Ukraine. Specialized drone intelligence firm DroneSec reviewed the satellite data and found that approximately 20 of the newly installed mechanical rail launchers exceed the length of traditional models used earlier in the conflict, indicating a capability to deploy the Kremlin’s latest long-range strike drones. Images show new rails still under construction and areas intended for aircraft storage, with a single base possessing sufficient capacity to house numerous drones simultaneously.
Technological Leap to Jet-Powered Geran-4 and Geran-5 Drones
The expansion of launch infrastructure coincides with a rapid technological transformation of Russia’s unmanned aerial arsenal. In the early stages of the war, Moscow relied primarily on Iranian-designed Shahed-136 loitering munitions, subsequently produced and modified domestically under the Geran designation with numerous improvements in navigation, communications, electronic warfare resistance, explosive payload, and propulsion systems.
The latest evolutions—designated Geran-4 and Geran-5—represent a major departure from propeller-driven models by incorporating jet propulsion. A Russian Geran-5 jet attack drone was exhibited during the Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9, 2026, according to OTS LIVE reporting. Filtered Ukrainian government documents cited by The Telegraph indicate that these jet-powered variants carry explosive payloads weighing approximately 90 kilograms and achieve speeds far superior to earlier generations. This combination of higher velocity and extended range drastically compresses the window available for air defense systems to detect, classify, assign an interceptor, and destroy incoming threats before reaching their target.
Strategic Implications for NATO and Polish Security
While seven of the ten identified bases have already participated in intensive bombardment waves against Kyiv according to open-source tracking data, intelligence agencies are looking at the broader strategic horizon. Western intelligence analysts believe Moscow’s network provides the infrastructure necessary to stage potential armed provocations or missile and drone strikes against critical infrastructure in neighboring nations, creating a distributed network from which large quantities of drones can be launched simultaneously and from different directions to complicate air defenses.
Although the reports note no current indications that Russia plans an immediate attack against Poland or any other Alliance member, the positioning of these long-range systems places Warsaw within striking distance. The scale of the facilities points to an evolution in Russia’s air war model: passing from employing drones as a complement to cruise and ballistic missiles to possessing industrial and operational capacity that allows for increasingly large waves, thereby raising the total number of unmanned systems used and increasing the difficulty for defenses to neutralize new designs.
Alliance Response and Ongoing Intelligence Monitoring
In response to the shifting security environment along its eastern flank, the military alliance has articulated a firm defensive posture.
Unamed NATO official, via Lavanguardia: The alliance is prepared to defend every inch of allied territory and will continue reinforcing its deterrence and defense capacity against any threat, including those from drones.
The alliance member further emphasized that the organization will continue strengthening its capability to deter and defend against any threats, explicitly including unmanned aerial systems. Intelligence specialists continue to monitor the ongoing construction at these dispersed sites as satellite tracking reveals additional rail installations and storage zones taking shape across rural Russia.
