(Bloomberg) -- Russia is increasing the domestic production of battle drones, one of its most important combat weapons, alongside a surge in other military-related manufacturing as the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine enters a second winter with no end in sight. 

Although there’s no public data on the specific number of drones being produced, official statistics have shown an approximately 80% annual increase in the production of remote-control equipment, including those used for guiding combat unmanned aerial vehicles, in recent months. Federal Statistics Service data published late Wednesday show that in October, the output in this category, listed under “most important product types” in the report, grew by 33% compared to the previous year. 

Overall, industrial production in Russia grew 5.3% in October from the same period last year.

The surge in production follows recent reports that Russia has opened new factories to manufacture the drones in several regions. Moscow has also increased the supply of drones to its military forces, and recently fired off its biggest barrage of them against Ukraine in the war so far, with Kyiv saying 75 UAVs struck the country on the day it commemorated the 90th anniversary of the yearlong Soviet-era famine known as the Holodomor. One newly created manufacturer estimated its output at 500 drones per month. 

Rostec, the state-owned defense conglomerate under a raft of European and US sanctions, said that it has expanded its UAV production capabilities this year, allowing it to boost the output of different loitering munitions models multiple times. 

Russia’s capacity to domestically produce drones is growing despite sanctions meant to curtail the country’s ability to manufacture advanced weapons. That’s key for President Vladimir Putin who is betting his country can outlast the West’s willingness to supply weapons to Ukraine amid signs that some of Kyiv’s allies may be starting to waver in their support.

The UK Defence Ministry warned in August that Russia “has almost certainly” started to deploy some UAV models that were domestically produced using components from Iran and is aiming for self-sufficiency in manufacturing the crafts in the near future. 

Russia has largely relied on Iranian-supplied Shahed drones in many of its attacks against Ukraine, but last month the Institute for the Study of War said Moscow was increasingly supplementing them with “cheaper and lighter domestically produced” variants in strikes on infrastructure. 

Read more: Ukraine’s Struggle for Arms and Attention Gives Putin an Opening

Russia’s war manufacturing is booming this year with output from industries that provide goods for the military expanding at a double-digit pace, according to data from the statistics service. The production category that covers combat vehicles, aircraft and ships increased by 28% in October compared to the previous year. Output of “finished metal goods,” which includes arms and ammunition, expanded by 35%. The output for products such as computers, electronics and optics — a category that includes among other things parts for aircraft and rocket engines, as well as optical sights — grew by 31%.

This has boosted total output with industrial production growing for the eighth month in a row despite the wide range of sanctions limiting Russia’s ability to import many components it still heavily relies on in much of its manufacturing. 

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said a week ago that since the beginning of the year the country’s army has received 16 times the number of drones as it did last year, five times the amount of missiles and artillery weapons and more than three times the volume of armored weapons. He didn’t specify the number of weapons produced.

One of Ukraine’s top commanders, Serhii Nayev, said in an interview with ABC news broadcast Nov. 25 that if Russia continues to boost its weapons production and improve military technologies with the help of its allies, the fighting could expand beyond the east and south of Ukraine.

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