The Ministry of Defense signed contracts with 16 Ukrainian drone manufacturers. This year, 20 billion hryvnias will be spent on drones

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine concluded state contracts with 16 Ukrainian manufacturers of drones.

This was reported by the Minister of Defence Oleksiy Reznikov.

According to him, the Ministry of Defense has already received applications from Ukrainian manufacturers for 75 drones of various types. And after consultations with the General Staff of the Armed Forces and tests, the Ministry of Defense signed 16 state contracts with Ukrainian drone manufacturers.

Reznikov added that in 2023 the Ministry of Defense will increase the procurement of drones for the Armed Forces. About 20 billion hryvnias are planned to be spent on this.

"We are talking about the development of the drone market of a wide range of applications — "air-land-water". This is about adjusting the artillery, and about inflicting damage on the enemy (strike drones), and about the delivery of ammunition, evacuation of the wounded, etc.," the head of the Ministry of Defense noted.

• On July 1, 2022, the "Army of Drones" project was launched in Ukraine to cover the front line with drones. monobank was the first to join the initiative. Together with their clients, they collected more than 64 million hryvnias in a few days.
• At the beginning of October, the Ministry of Statistics announced that, together with the General Staff of the Armed Forces and the State Special Forces, they would purchase 986 drones for the army for 1.9 billion hryvnias.
• On January 3, 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers simplified the procedure for importing civil and dual purpose drones into Ukraine, as well as spare parts for them. They will be processed immediately at the border.
• In Ukraine, for the first time in the world, they began to form shock companies of unmanned aerial vehicles. They are created within the framework of the "Army of Drones" project. The creation of drone strike companies was agreed at the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. The Ministry of Defense, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the State Special Forces created a coordination headquarters for the implementation of the project.