Government allocates another UAH 15.5 billion for drones
30 April 2024 17:53
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has allocated an additional UAH 15.5 billion for the purchase of drones. This was announced by Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports, citing the government’s press service.
According to the Prime Minister, the allocated funds will be enough for 300,000 drones
“The funds will go to the Administration of the State Special Communications Service, which is in charge of the relevant procurement. For the funds allocated today, 300,000 drones will be delivered to our Security and Defence Forces,”
– Shmyhal said.
He clarified that this is additional funds to the UAH 43.3 billion already allocated for drones this year. Thus, a total of UAH 58.8 billion will be allocated for drones this year.
The Prime Minister also added that the Brave1 defence technology cluster has been operating for a year now, with more than 1,600 developments in 12 areas registered.
“These include drones, electronic warfare, robotic systems, and the use of artificial intelligence. The state helps the most promising developers to implement their projects. We have provided 186 grants for more than UAH 120 million for research and development and production scale-up,”
– the Prime Minister said.
One million drones and modernisation of 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. Recently, 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 eve 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.
