Ukraine has produced approximately 200,000 FPV drones in January and February 2024, Hanna Hvozdiar, Deputy Minister of Strategic Industries, said in an interview with Forbes Ukraine.
With the US and EU aid packages delayed, Ukraine is ramping up the production of one-way attack suicide” drones to compensate for the lack of artillery shells at the front, the Ukrainian Deputy Defense Ministry said.
During his press conference on 19 December, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine would manufacture one million drones in 2024, referring specifically to FPV drones.
“The President talked about 1 million drones – our capacities already allow us to produce that much, and even more,” Hvozdiar said.
According to Hvozdiar, Ukraine’s production capabilities are set to reach 2 million drones of various types, including FPV, this year.
Hvozdiar also revealed that new types of FPV drones, such as “wing” drones and lightweight reconnaissance drones akin to the Mavic, are currently under development.
Ukraine’s Digital Minister Mykhailo Fedorov told Reuters that Ukraine aims to produce thousands of long-range drones capable of striking deep into Russia in 2024.
According to Fedorov, in 2023, 58 Ukrainian drone manufacturers received state contracts. Overall, there are more than 200 Ukrainian companies operating in the UAV market, offering drones or related services and products.
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