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KYIV: Ukraine is intensifying efforts to scale up domestic drone production, with a target of manufacturing a few million more units each year as part of a push to build a self-sustaining defence industry.
Kyiv has relied on allies for military aid since Moscow’s full-scale invasion, but it hopes to eventually export drone technology, which could fit in with Europe's plans to boost its own defences.
Last year, Ukrainian officials said the country made more than 2 million drones. Their aim is to manufacture 5 million drones each year.
RAMPING UP DRONE PRODUCTION
Drones have become a critical component of Ukraine’s war with Russia, currently accounting for about 70 per cent of casualties on both sides.
In March alone, Ukraine carried out more than 77,000 such attacks.
Oleksii Zhulinskiy, chief technology officer of Kyiv-based drone manufacturer 3DTech, said the country’s battlefields have been a vital testing ground.
“We are in contact with soldiers maybe every day to ask feedback about our products, to make our products better and develop some features or resolve problems,” he added.
The drone manufacturer has been able to produce up to 3,000 drones per month.
This comes as drone producers across the country have made ramping up production a major focus.
Ukraine has allocated US$2.6 billion for first-person view drone procurement this year alone.
Zhulinskiy said Ukraine’s drone sector is attracting interest from allies, especially those close to Russia’s borders.
“There are many requests from European countries and European companies, and they want to buy or know something about our drones because they are scared of Russian aggression,” he added.
BOOSTING EUROPE’S DEFENCE
However, drone makers said scaling up requires raw materials and money. They added that they are vulnerable to supply chain disruptions.
While Ukraine is working to boost its domestic capacity, defence experts noted that funding remains an issue, especially with US support no longer a guarantee.
Oleksandra Azarkina, co-founder of Independent think tank We Build Ukraine, said: “We still have a gap in the contracts because unfortunately the Ukrainian budget isn’t strong enough to cover it all.”
For now, the focus is on supporting Ukrainian soldiers.
Still, officials hope its drone industry can soon help allies bolster their own security needs.
“We definitely see that we can add to the European defence,” said Mykhailo Hrebeniuk, head of office of the Global Promotion of Ukrainian R&D, which is charged with advancing research and development efforts.
“There is no need for us to substitute any European developers but we can be a partner. We can produce together, develop together and defend Europe together.”
The European Commission’s ReArm Europe plan, which calls for a significant surge in defence spending across member states, could unlock more than US$800 billion for the bloc’s defence sector.
With drones becoming a key component of modern warfare, Ukraine’s first-hand experience and battle-tested technology could see the demand for its military hardware take off.
