Drone industry in Ukraine has taken shape, time to muscle up - manufacturers say about UAV market
More than 500 active drone manufacturers are currently operating in Ukraine, producing over 1,000 models of UAVs. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, drone production in Ukraine has increased 800-fold — from 5,000 units in 2022 to 4 million by the end of 2024.
This is according to a study titled "Game changer: How opening exports will affect Ukrainian UAV manufacturers," presented by DataDriven.
Researchers conclude that 2025 will mark the full-fledged formation of the drone market. A similar view was shared by DEVIRO, a company that has been developing, designing and manufacturing UAVs and related software since 2014.
"We can state that the Ukrainian industry is already fully established, with key players entrenched in their niches and little room left for new entrants. To draw an analogy with a living organism, the drone industry already has a stable skeleton, and now it’s time to build muscle," DEVIRO representatives told Business Censor.
The DEVIRO believes that those who have invested, and continue to invest, in technology will remain in the market after the war. That, in turn, is a high-cost effort.
"For example, our company’s R&D department has grown tenfold over the past three years. The infrastructure has also expanded several times over: full-cycle production spread across several countries, a service center, and a pilot training school, all of it funded solely by the company," representatives of the manufacturer said.
Once companies hit the ceiling in their segments, the next step is to expand the ecosystem, DEVIRO notes.
"We already have reconnaissance and strike components, and several more products will soon appear that will operate within a single integrated system. It stands to reason that arms manufacturers with established reputations and government orders will begin acquiring and merging with other producers over the next year or two," the company said.
DEVIRO representatives stress that facing a powerful adversary requires daily advances in military technology and bringing in more qualified specialists, this is what strengthens the drone industry.
"Ukrainian drones are the best in the world today, that’s true, but not because we simply wanted it that way. The enemy leaves us no choice. Constantly improving drones isn’t about business; it’s about survival on the battlefield," the company concluded.
About Ukrainian-made drones
A DataDriven study notes that 96% of all UAVs purchased by the state this year and last were domestically produced. The company Dyki Shershni ("Wild Hornets") points out, however, that this largely refers to drones assembled from foreign components.
"By contrast, drones made entirely from Ukrainian parts account for no more than 2%. Those combining Ukrainian and foreign components are somewhere around 10–15%. But that’s normal: the world is global, other countries have spent decades developing these technologies, and Ukraine cannot replace imports that quickly," the manufacturer’s representatives told Business Censor.
However, Ukraine is actively moving to substitute imports with domestic production, more local manufacturers of engines, controllers and high-quality cameras are emerging.
"This trend will only deepen; Ukraine will increasingly switch to domestically produced components. But it should be remembered that these components are also made from imported parts. In fact, there is currently no full production cycle for any drone component in Ukraine," Dyki Shershni notes.
Separately, Germany’s Quantum Systems, a drone manufacturer, has doubled output at its production facilities in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, France is working with Ukraine to launch production of drones for the Ukrainian army, which could be set up in both countries. Consultations are under way.
