Russia is rapidly expanding its "Tsymbulova" drone port in Oryol Oblast for jet-powered Geran-5 strike drones. The new satellite imagery showing 10 additional launchers under construction, less than a month after the facility's expansion began, "Strategic Aviation of Russia" channel reports.
Such drones have a cruising speed of 450 to 600 kilometers per hour, a range of up to 950 kilometers, and are "already approaching the shape of a cruise missile," Center for Information Resilience analyst Kyle Glen says.
Four new launch pads are being built to strike Ukraine
Four new launch pads are being built near existing Geran-5 launch positions; six more are being prepared in the southern part of the facility; and at least eight new concrete structures, likely for drone storage and supporting equipment, are under construction. Active construction has been recorded since 22 April.
The launch installations themselves are about 80 meters long — roughly three times the length of launchers for standard attack drones.
Four new launch pads are being built near existing Geran-5 launch positions. While six more are being prepared in the southern part of the facility. At least eight new concrete structures, likely for drone storage and supporting equipment, are under construction. Active construction has been recorded since 22 April.
What does satellite imagery show at Tsymbulova?
The Strategic Aviation of Russia OSINT group has been tracking the Tsymbulova site since late April, when satellite imagery first showed the existing launch positions. One month on, the group documents the construction of 10 additional launchers — bringing roughly double the launch capacity in a single month.
"The scale and pace of expansion of this facility indicate a systematic buildup of Russian infrastructure for massive strikes against Ukraine using jet-powered drones," the channel said.
Earlier imagery near the launch points captured significant numbers of drones stored in the open, alongside light civilian vehicles near the drone garages that Russian forces likely use as supplementary mobile launch platforms.
Russian "missile-drone" hit ranges of up to 1,000 kilometers
The Geran-5 is the latest in Russia's modernization of the Iranian-designed Shahed-136 family. The earlier Geran-3 and Geran-4 variants are equipped with turbojet engines and dual fuel tanks, reaching speeds of 300 to 370 kilometers per hour and ranges of up to 1,000 kilometers.
They are fitted with the jam-resistant Kometa-M12 satellite navigation system, which uses a 12-element adaptive antenna array specifically designed to defeat electronic warfare interference, Militarnyi reports. The Geran-5 takes the design further — heavier (about 850 kilograms maximum takeoff weight), faster, and capable of staying in the air for up to two hours.
The combination of speed, range, jam-resistant navigation, and mass production gives the platform an emerging cruise-missile-like character.
