Ukraine’s Minister for Strategic Industries, Oleksandr Kamyshin, used the Telegram messenger channel on 20 December to announce that Kyiv is ready for 2024 drone production, which will see over one million drones produced during the year.
That number may seem enormous – but is not that surprising, given that estimates currently put drone losses in Ukraine at around 10,000 per month. The great majority of that number will consist of first-person view (FPV) drones – the class that has seen the most rapid escalation in use since the Russian invasion. However, Kamyshin also stated that over 11,000 medium- and long-range uncrewed aerial vehicles will be manufactured in 2024, including at least 1,000 with a range in excess of 1,000km. “All production facilities are ready, and contracting for 2024 begins,” his message reads in part.
Ukraine’s focus in recent months has been on ensuring the ability to produce and procure defence equipment – including drones and, to a lesser degree, counter-UAS systems, at scale. In this, the nation faces no different a challenge than other users of UAS – including Russia and the United States.
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(Image: Production of Poseidon reconnaissance drones for Ukrainian armed forces – Shutterstock)
