Ukraine will produce thousands of long-range drones capable of delivering deep strikes against Russia this year, and already has up to 10 companies that manufacture UAVs that can reach Moscow and St Petersburg. This was stated by Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov in an interview with Reuters, reports
Fedorov said he agrees with the assessment of the head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Kirill Budanov that Ukraine has reached “a certain parity” with Moscow in the production of long-range drones.
“The category of long-range kamikaze drones is growing in terms of flight radii of 300, 500, 700 and 1,000 kilometres. Two years ago, this category did not exist at all,”
– says Fedorov.
According to him, about $2.5 million was allocated to start-ups in the field of military technology through the BRAVE1 initiative launched by the government last year. In 2024, this amount is planned to increase by about ten times.
Unlike in Russia, where the state dominates drone production, the vast majority of manufacturers in Ukraine are private, Fedorov said. Only one in 10 companies whose drones can fly as far as the regions around Moscow or St Petersburg is state-owned.
“We need to act in an anti-bureaucratic way. This is the essence of a breakthrough in the technology war. We will continue to bet on this and work in this direction. Because technology can really save us,”
– the official added.
In total, more than 300,000 drones of various types were ordered last year and more than 100,000 were sent to the frontline, Fedorov said, adding that these figures do not include volunteer deliveries.
“We have removed the taxation of UAV components, simplified the contracting procedure and the decommissioning procedure. In other words, we took all the blockages faced by private companies and removed them in six months by adopting all the necessary laws and regulations,”
– says the Minister.
One million drones and modernising the army
The decision to maximise 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, provide maximum support to 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 with assurances 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 Zaluzhnyi emphasised the need for a technological breakthrough in the army, with a particular 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 creation of a separate type of troops in the Armed Forces – the Unmanned Systems Forces.