The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine announced the number of drones transferred to the Defense Forces this year
11 December 2024 11:57
In 11 months of 2024, the Ministry of Defense transferred more than 1.2 million drones of various types to the Defense Forces. This was reported by the defense ministry, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
This message appears to have been a response to a post on Telegram by MP Mariana Bezuhla, who claimed that the ministry had purchased almost no drones in 2024.
“As soon as Mykhailo Fedorov was suspended from working with drones, procurement and development of this area fell critically – several times in a month. And the Ministry of Defense has hardly purchased any drones in 2024,” the MP wrote.
And now the Ministry of Defense has reported that the Defense Forces have received, in particular:
– 40,000 reconnaissance multi-rotor drones, including more than 12,000 “night” drones;
– 5,000 reconnaissance aircraft-type UAVs, such as Shark, GOR and Furia
– 6,000 units of deep strike drones, including An-196 “Lutyi”, Firepoint and others;
– 2,000 reusable strike UAVs, such as Nemesis, Bat, Vampire;
– 5,000 reusable FPV copters.
1.1 million FPV kamikaze drones, commissioned by the Ministry of Defense to meet the needs of combat units, were delivered by the State Special Communications Service.
By the end of the year, it is planned to transfer about 100,000 more drones.
The Ministry of Defense assured that providing the defense forces with modern UAVs remains a priority, which allows them to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities and combat effectiveness.
Compared to last year
In just six months of this year, the Ukrainian Defense Forces received six times more drones than in the entire year of 2023. This was reported back in June by the newly appointed commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi.
“In six months, the state has supplied six times more drones to the Armed Forces than in the entire year of 2023,” he said. The colonel did not specify the absolute number of drones, and, of course, did not explain the role of the Defense Ministry, but noted that the goal of producing one million drones, which the President of Ukraine announced last year, will be exceeded.
According to Sukharevsky, the state has contracted and is currently purchasing drones from more than 120 manufacturers.
By the way, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, mentioned by Maryana Bezuhla, also stated on November 11 that 1 million drones had already been delivered to the frontline in 2024, and 96% of them were Ukrainian.
In fact, back in mid-October, the President of Ukraine himself reported that Ukraine had already manufactured and sent one million drones to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which were purchased at public expense.
Some plans for the next year
In 2025, the Defense Forces intend to supply more than 30,000 DeepStrike attack drones. Some of these UAVs were financed by Ukraine’s international partners by investing in the Ukrainian defense industry.
DeepStrike is a new generation of drones capable of operating autonomously over long distances and hitting enemy targets with high accuracy.
