KHABAROVSK, January 11. /TASS/. Drones perform many important tasks on the frontline, so it is necessary to be one step ahead of the enemy, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with entrepreneurs in Russia’s Far East.

"The products that you and your colleagues make - we all know very well - are in great demand. Both attack drones and reconnaissance drones," Putin addressed a businessman involved in UAV manufacturing. "They are being used very effectively.

"On January 1, I met with the guys (soldiers participating in the special military operation - TASS). They came to me from the front line, from the entire line of engagement," Putin recalled. "One of them is involved in using drones. They work very effectively."

"This is one of the modern ways of conducting armed struggle, which adjusts all interaction with types and branches of the armed forces, connects many things and makes them more effective - both counter-battery warfare and reconnaissance," Putin said.

"There are many tasks, so here it is very important to be ahead of the enemy. To be one step ahead. Both you and your colleagues can do it. And you are already doing it," Putin stressed.

When asked about the possible establishment of a research and production center in this industry, Putin promised to have a word with the members of the government concerned.

"The colleagues from the government will work on it. I will tell them. They will definitely contact you," Putin said. He added that the issue of drone manufacturing was a competence of deputy prime ministers Andrey Belousov and Denis Manturov, as well as "the Defense Ministry, naturally."