Last year, 58 Ukrainian drone manufacturers received state contracts

In 2023, 58 Ukrainian drone manufacturers received state contracts, and 67 models received codification; in total, there are more than 200 Ukrainian companies operating on the market that deal with UAVs or services and products in the field of drones.

The deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov informed this at a meeting with manufacturers.

According to him, companies need to scale up in 2024 — "because we need more drones." The main task is the standardization of requirements and tactical and technical characteristics for drones. It is also important for manufacturers to understand the forecasting of contracts and the needs of the General Staff, Fedorov emphasized.

Ukrainian manufacturers can create revolutionary technologies for the battlefield. According to the Deputy Prime Minister, now the priority UAV technologies for development are the Ukrainian "Lancet"; AI for automatic target acquisition; guided ammunition; aiming at EW and hitting them; anti-drone solutions, etc.

Fedorov also reported that work on the development of robotic platforms, munitions and EW continues — almost every week a new unit receives codification according to NATO standards.

The minister announced plans to increase the amount of grants on the Brave1 platform to $200 000 "so that inventors can make a quality prototype."

• Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that in 2024, Ukraine plans to produce one million drones. The head of the Ministry of Statistics Mykhailo Fedorov and the Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin consider this figure to be real.
• Kamyshyn also said that, in addition to a million FPV drones, there are plans to make more than 10 000 medium-range strike drones — for hundreds of kilometers, and more than a thousand drones with a range of 1 000 km or more.
• At the beginning of 2024, Ukraine and Latvia created a coalition of drones. The main task of this association is to help Ukraine scale up the production of drones and electronic warfare systems for the needs of war. On January 25, Great Britain and Sweden joined the coalition.