Scandal with state procurement of FPV: half of drones are not fit for combat – Sternenko
8 September 23:40
“The Defense Procurement Agency of the Ministry of Defense reported that it has saved almost UAH 511 million due to a new procurement procedure for FPV drones. Volunteer Serhiy Sternenko criticized the procurement and said that about six out of ten FPV drones purchased with state budget funds may be ineffective or require serious modifications, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
Savings on drone procurement
The Defense Procurement Agency of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has saved almost UAH 511 million in the procurement of FPV drones due to framework agreements based on tactical and technical characteristics (TTX), i.e. requirements for the functionality and capabilities of drones, the Ministry of Defense said today, September 8.
“The implemented procedure allowed us to save more than half a billion in public funds while maintaining the high quality of the equipment. This is a clear example of how effective procurement directly strengthens Ukraine’s defense capabilities,” said Oleksandr Osadchyi, Head of the Procurement Department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
The total expected value of the procurement was UAH 2.058 billion. The bidding process resulted in contracts worth UAH 1.547 billion. The largest savings in a single lot amounted to more than UAH 70 million, with an average savings of about 25%.
In several lots, the savings were particularly significant:
- expected value of UAH 202.3 million → winner – UAH 141.2 million (savings of UAH 61.1 million);
- expected value UAH 177.8 million → the winner – UAH 106 million (saving UAH 71.8 million);
- expected value of UAH 177.8 million → winner – UAH 120.1 million (saving UAH 57.7 million).
Some manufacturers have already made the first shipments of drones to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The procurement of FPV drones took place in the closed module of Prozorro.
Up to 60% of FPV drones are unsuitable for use
According to Sternenko, a significant portion – more than half of the two million drones provided for under the state order – are in warehouses and not used for their intended purpose.
According to Sternenko, the situation has arisen because of the delayed logistics, which stretches from one to six months, as well as the list of equipment approved by the General Staff and passed on to the Ministry of Defense for purchase.
“The General Staff is not interested in their characteristics or why the engines were screwed on the wrong side. There’s either huge corruption or hopeless stupidity here. Or two in one, I don’t know,” Sternenko said.
His post on Telegram was reposted by MP Mariana Bezuhla, known for her criticism of the General Staff leadership, with a short note “Read it.”
What experts say
After the massive shelling by the Russian Federation, Yuriy Kasyanov, an officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and an aviation engineer, emphasized that “the reliance on relatively simple, cheap to manufacture mass weapons, which can easily be used by lawyers from Zaporizhzhia and location managers from Kyiv who have access to high corridors of power, turns into civilian casualties, numerous destructions, the prospect of defeat in the war and unprecedented corruption scandals for Ukraine.”
“Instead of investing resources in knowledge-intensive, high-tech weapons systems – in anti-aircraft missile systems similar to the Russian Pantsir, which are quite effective in the fight against drones and cruise missiles, hundreds of millions of euros of Western aid are given to giant corruption pads that turn Chinese drone systems into “artificial intelligence interceptor drones” through simple manipulations,” Kasyanov emphasized.
This is not the first time that criticism of government procurement of drones has been voiced. Volunteers and manufacturers have repeatedly emphasized that the real needs at the front differ from what is purchased through official tenders.
What is the situation with the production of Ukrainian weapons?
Since the beginning of the war with Russia, the Ukrainian drone industry has grown by 900% due to production expansion and innovation.
In 2022, Ukrainian FPV drones were produced in quantities up to several thousand. In 2024, production exceeded 2 million units, and in 2025, the capacity reached 200 thousand FPV drones per month.
In February this year, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the country is capable of producing up to 4 million drones annually.
However, the industry faces a shortage of specialists, dependence on imported parts, and the need for long-term contracts.
In 2022, the government launched the Army of Drones strategy, and in 2023, the Brave1 platform to support military innovation. Today, it covers 1,500 companies and 3,500 products. In total, more than 470 grants worth UAH 1.3 billion (over $8 million) have been awarded. The program is supported by the state budget, but the industry is still critically dependent on foreign funding.
