FPV drones made in Ukraine: The Ministry of Defense has started licensed production

29 January 11:52

The Ministry of Defense has started licensed production of modern FPV drones on the basis of a state-owned enterprise. This was reported by Komersant ukrainskyi with reference to the Ministry of Defense.

This became possible as part of a pilot project launched in December last year under the general coordination of the Defense Innovation Directorate of the Ministry of Defense.

The project envisages the production of codified FPV drones in accordance with a trilateral agreement under which a private developer has granted a license to manufacture drones on the basis of a state-owned enterprise under the management of the Ministry of Defense. All manufactured products will be transferred to the units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

After the technological process has been successfully established and scaled up, the state-owned enterprise will be able to participate in tenders of the Defense Procurement Agency and attract other potential customers.

Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk, First Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, expressed a positive assessment of the project:

“The experience is positive. Thanks to the integration of the state into production chains, we have gained a clear understanding of the cost of drone production and our competitive advantages in this market. This will allow us to improve the quality of finished products through sustainable competition.”

In addition, experts from the Defense Innovation Directorate of the Ministry of Defense have developed a roadmap for organizing similar production facilities together with other developers of unmanned aerial systems (UAS). This will significantly increase production capacity and accelerate the scaling of unmanned systems production.

Follow us on Telegram: the main news in a nutshell

“We are ready to expand cooperation with private companies. We have a package of template documents and step-by-step instructions for launching similar UAV production lines at other state-owned enterprises,” said Yuriy Taraniuk, Head of the Defense Innovation Directorate.

One million drones and army modernization

The decision to maximize state support for drone production was made in March 2023, when the government approved a resolution. Since then, the Ministry of Digital Transformation has been actively working to expand production, maximize support for drone manufacturers, and remove bureaucratic obstacles to the creation of UAVs. Recently, Minister Fedorov launched the People’s Drone initiative, under which every citizen can assemble a drone at home at their own expense.

In late 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed confidence that Ukraine would produce one million drones for the frontline by 2024, referring to FPV drones. Minister Fedorov responded by assuring that this target would even be exceeded.

In his last article in the Western press on the eve of his dismissal from the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Valeriy Zaluzhny emphasized the need for a technological breakthrough in the army with a special focus on unmanned technologies. The Commander-in-Chief claimed that it would take only 5 months to reorient the army to unmanned systems.

After his dismissal, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed the government to work on the issue of creating a separate type of troops in the Armed Forces – the Unmanned Systems Forces.

Follow us on Telegram: the main news in brief

Остафійчук Ярослав
Editor