Ukraine has increased its production to dozens of long-range drones monthly, similar to Iran’s Shahed-136 model, Ukraine’s Minister of Strategic Industries, Oleksandr Kamyshin, stated during the annual meeting of the European Business Association, according to Forbes Ukraine.
Kamyshin emphasized that the defense industry is currently making a significant contribution to the country’s economic growth and should become its primary sector moving forward.
Kamyshin stated that Ukraine had begun mass-producing drones similar to the Iranian Shahed models, though he did not disclose the name of this Ukrainian drone. He said they are now manufacturing dozens of these Ukrainian drone analogs every month. Additionally, Ukraine has increased the production of various other military items that were previously only manufactured in small quantities.
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He further noted that an increase in production does not consistently meet government expectations. “For us, tenfold growth and higher is satisfactory. We have such growth in many areas,” Kamyshin explained.
Kamyshin noted that this ramp-up does not involve the integration of businesses with Ukroboronprom since state factories are operational while investors are cultivating the private sector.
“Currently, numerous drone companies see the opportunity to find the resources they cannot obtain individually at one of the state-owned plants.,” he stated.
He provided an example, stating that a service center at a state plant assists small private drone firms, demonstrating the state’s deployment of its resources to foster development.
Earlier, the Ukroboronprom CEO, Herman Smetanin, confirmed that domestic one-way attack drones with a 1,000-kilometer range are now being produced on a serial scale in Ukraine.
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