Historic tender: Ukraine orders Ukrainian drones with machine vision on Prozorro for the first time
1 August 2024 14:55
Ukraine is taking an important step in defence procurement: for the first time, a tender for the purchase of domestic FPV drones has been announced through the Prozorro system. This was announced by Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, reports "Komersant Ukrainian"
“This is the first purchase by the state through Prozorro of Ukrainian drones, and super-technological ones – FPV drones that use machine vision to target the target,”
– said Fedorov.
The minister explained in detail how these high-tech drones work:
“The pilot identifies the target, points the drone at it, and the drone attacks, even in the absence of signals. That is, even if the operator loses contact with the drone, it can still complete the task.”
Fedorov drew special attention to the security of the procurement process. According to him, the bidding will take place through the closed Prozorro module, and all sensitive information will be hidden. This will ensure the necessary level of confidentiality for such an important defence order.
Fedorov emphasised the speed of the initiative:
“It took less than a month from the government’s resolution to the first tenders.”
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. 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. Deputy Minister for Strategic Industries Hanna Hvozdyar argues that Ukraine is capable of producing significantly more than one million drones a year, and current production is already ahead of schedule.
In his last article in the Western press on the ev e of his dismissal as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi stressed 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. They were formally established on 6 February 2024.
