In an interview with the YouTube channel Pressing, Taras Chmut, the head of the Come Back Alive fund, discussed the relocation of manufacturing capabilities abroad by several drone producers.
"At least 4 market leaders have moved their production overseas, and no matter what anyone says, they will not return here. They will be operating in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and other countries," Chmut said.
He explained that the production of Ukrainian companies abroad is now considered NATO-compatible technology that has been developed and adapted through the full-scale war with Russia.
"Compared to Western products, these are inexpensive and functional machines. There will be demand for them, and they will be sold. Unfortunately, jobs, engineers, experience, and taxes will remain there," Chmut added.
He believes this happened due to the impossibility of such sales from Ukraine. If export opportunities are not opened, the number of such companies will continue to grow.
"Of course, this will be presented as a matter of production safety or logistical simplification. But we all understand that the goal of any business is profit, which comes from sales. Sales happen in either domestic or foreign markets. The domestic market is limited, regulated, sometimes complex, and corrupt. The foreign market is not much easier, but the profit is many times greater. For example, a drone complex that sells for $220,000 here could cost $500,000 abroad," Chmut summarized.
It is worth noting that at the end of July, Olexander Stepura, founder and CEO of Skyeton, which produces the ACS‐3 (Raybird‐3) reconnaissance systems, announced the launch of production in Slovakia.
