Ukraine is now ahead of Russia in manufacturing FPV drones, - Ministry of Defence
The drone industry in Ukraine is developing at a breakthrough pace. Last year, more than 250 new models of UAVs of various types and purposes were approved for use in the Defence Forces.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by First Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk in an interview with "Ukrinform".
"If we talk about the production of FPV drones, Ukraine is currently ahead of the Russian Federation. Both in terms of development and production. Since 24 February 2022, more than 1,300 new models of weapons and military equipment produced by Ukrainian enterprises have been codified for the needs of the Defence Forces. The largest group of them is the UAVs and ammunition for them. Last year alone, more than 250 new UAV models of various types and purposes were approved for use in the Defence Forces. However, it should be understood that the determining factor is not only the number of drones developed and manufactured," Havryliuk said.
He emphasised that the efficiency of their use and the speed with which developers can respond to changes are crucial.
"You can have hundreds of thousands of drones, but they will be powerless against the enemy's countermeasures, as I mentioned above. After a month or three in a cluster of drones, the effectiveness of a particular model decreases. We need to look for new ways to maintain efficiency. The technological ‘duel’ between manufacturers of drones and electronic warfare equipment clearly illustrates this. And here, the advantage is on the side of the one whose engineers are quicker to offer a technological solution to which the enemy will not have a ready answer. Recall drones with artificial intelligence elements. Or the increasing use of fibre-optic drones as a response to the dominance of electronic warfare technologies," Havryliuk added.
To recap, Havryliuk also said that long-range UAVs have to some extent become a replacement for long-range missiles.
