During the full-scale war, Ukraine made a significant leap in the development of defense-tech. In particular, thanks to the Army of Drones project, which kickstarted the development of the Ukrainian UAV market. Currently, about 200 companies are involved in drones and related products, with 67 UAV models receiving contracts from the state. Just in 2022, there were only 7.
In a year and a half of existence, the Army of Drones project transformed from a subproject of UNITED24 into a large-scale state program for the development of domestic UAV production. Thanks to this, the number of drones on the front lines increased by tens of times.
"We view projects as policy-makers — how to change processes, simplify procedures. In 1.5 years, we have adopted about 20 laws and regulatory acts that have changed the rules of the game and opened up markets for the development of innovations and technologies. Already in 2023, 100 times more drones were produced and purchased than in 2022. This became possible due to changes in policy, increased funding, and companies' capabilities to produce drones," said Vice Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science, and Technology Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov.
Last year, revolutionary resolutions were adopted — simplifying UAV certification, increasing the margin to 25%, removing additional permits, simplifying UAV write-offs, and more. In addition, in 2023, the Government allocated a historic budget for drones — 40 billion UAH, allowing for the contracting and delivery of hundreds of thousands of UAVs to the front lines.
Within the Army of Drones, a transparent and accountable UAV procurement system was built. In particular, an online monitoring system has been launched, with access granted to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU). Moreover, each drone now undergoes an official price expertise. In the near future, the state will purchase foreign mass-market UAVs through the Prozorro system. This will allow manufacturers to openly compete for government contracts and the state to procure drones on the most favorable terms.
Additionally, Ukraine has introduced a separate "technological genre" — maritime drones, which have changed the situation in the Black Sea. This is a unique Ukrainian development capable of performing various operations: surveillance, reconnaissance, patrols, search and rescue operations, mine countermeasures, maritime fleet protection, and most importantly — combat missions.
In addition, within the Army of Drones, the world's first strike UAV squadrons were created. These are units within the Armed Forces that operate under a new doctrine and with a new approach to management. The strike squadrons have already demonstrated their effectiveness on the front lines. From June 2023 to January 2024, they targeted over 14,000 enemy objectives.
An important part of the Army of Drones is training operators. After all, the effectiveness of a UAV depends on the ability to use it correctly. We have attracted donor funds and trained nearly 20,000 UAV operators. Military personnel underwent both theoretical and practical training, as close as possible to real combat conditions. Most of them are already successfully performing combat tasks on the front lines.
The plans for 2024 include a million FPV drones and hundreds of other types of UAVs that meet the needs of the Armed Forces. For this year, the state has allocated a budget for the development of the UAV sphere, so within the Army of Drones, we continue to stimulate the market and increase the number of UAVs on the front lines.
