Era of Ukraine’s "menagerie of drones" coming to end – UAV manufacturers
Drone Industry
The situation with the so-called "menagerie of drones," which emerged in Ukraine amid the rapid expansion of drone production in 2022, is moving toward its logical conclusion. The next step, industry representatives say, is product standardization.
That is what representatives of Ukrainian UAV manufacturers told Censor.NET in the article "How can Ukraine tame the ‘menagerie of drones’ and should it be done?"
"The menagerie of drones is like the industry’s ‘childhood disease.’ The phenomenon emerged, as history allotted, at a time when quantity required more than quality, when the state and volunteers called on people to assemble drones in garages, kitchens, and offices. It was a natural process we’ve lived through; the next step is standardization," said DEVIRO, a company that has been developing, designing and manufacturing unmanned aerial vehicles and related software since 2014.
According to Oleksii Babenko, CEO of drone maker Vyriy, there is a growing trend for brigades to rely on one or two suppliers via eBali, DOT-Chain and similar platforms, and to receive properly standardized drones.
"But a large number of companies remain without orders. That is how the ‘menagerie of drones’ in Ukraine begins to wind down," he said.
DEVIRO adds that the industry’s formation phase in Ukraine is almost complete.
"The number of new drone-manufacturing companies is no longer growing at the pace it did two years ago. The main players, roughly ten companies are starting to look at other software and service providers. In search of new ideas and technologies, firms will begin to consolidate and scale up," the company’s representatives predict.
At the same time, Volodymyr Zinovskyi, deputy director at TAF Industries, believes that a large number of producers operating in a quasi-competitive market fosters innovation.
"Competition actually forces manufacturers to constantly improve the product and reduce costs so that customers choose them. At the same time, we need new technologies to surprise the enemy. There is no better way to test whether a technology works or can be applied than on the battlefield. Ideally, it should be tested in different conditions and by different units," Zinovskyi explained.
Yaroslav Honchar, head of the NGO Aerorozvidka, urges not to forget those who will be using this equipment directly — the military.
"They are already frustrated. Imagine you are a brigade commander who could be handed 400 different types of equipment. There are no wunderkinds who can master them all. Given the lack of unification, every engineer begins to invent their own solutions. How do you train a crew? Oversaturation and the absence of standardization reduce the effectiveness of drone operations, because preparing personnel for such diversity is a very serious challenge," he stressed.
Read more in the article "How сan Ukraine tame the ‘menagerie of drones’ and should it be done?"
