Ukrainian company assembles first fully domestic FPV drone

A private Ukrainian defense company Vyriy Drone has assembled the first FPV quadcopter made entirely from Ukrainian-manufactured components, the company’s founder Oleksiy Babenko told Militarnyi.

The company notes that Ukrainian-made drones will always surpass similar imported versions due to specific focus on military requirements and ability to quickly implement technical changes in response to rapid battlefield technological developments. Reducing dependence on Chinese suppliers will also protect against future Chinese export restrictions.

The company, which specializes in combat drone production and supplies them to Defense Forces, has presented a prototype of a fully localized 10-inch FPV quadcopter this month.

According to Militarnyi, the drone incorporates exclusively Ukrainian-made components, including the frame, which serves as a platform for other components, motors, propellers, camera, signal transmitter and receiver, as well as flight controller and speed regulator. The latter two were developed by the company and manufactured in Ukraine.

According to Military, Vyriy Drone began transitioning away from imported parts in 2023, driven by the goal of independent drone production and minimizing reliance on Chinese suppliers. By mid-2024, the company achieved 70% localization in their serial production drones.

The new drone features motors manufactured by Motor-G, a video transmitter from December1, and the Kurbas-256 thermal camera from Odd Systems. Odd Systems had earlier launched production of thermal camera modules with proprietary software optimizing thermal matrix potential for specific military needs.

Vyriy’s drone still utilizes some Chinese parts, including neodymium magnets, camera lens-matrix assemblies, and microchips, due to either lack of alternatives or China’s global monopoly on certain items like magnets.

The fully localized quadcopter reportedly matches the technical specifications of variants using Chinese components. While the unit cost is approximately 21,000 hryvnias or $500, developers expect reduction through serial production.

Drone warfare innovations have become a defining feature of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. Unmanned vehicles of various sizes, operating in the air, on land, and at sea, play a central role, with technology advancing rapidly from both sides.

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