Ukraine becomes drone superpower, enters NATO markets – Bloomberg
Ukraine has become a global leader in drone production: more than 500 Ukrainian companies now manufacture roughly 4 million drones a year, from cheap FPV craft to long-range strike systems.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by Bloomberg. According to the outlet, the production rate of Ukrainian UAVs exceeds the combined figures of most NATO countries.
Ukraine’s breakthrough in drone production
According to RAND analyst Michael Bonert, Ukraine is now producing more unmanned aerial vehicles than all NATO countries combined. By comparison, the United States manufactures roughly 100,000 drones a year.
Ukrainian developers are actively entering EU and North American markets, seeking partners for joint projects and for building manufacturing capacity abroad.
After three years of war, drone exports have become a strategic priority for the sector, Bloomberg adds that this will help secure steady funding needed to develop new technologies.
However, Ukrainian engineers warn that Europe is not learning quickly enough from Kyiv’s experience: one engineer said that by the time it took to set up a production line in Finland, his drones in Ukraine had already gone through three generations.
Earlier reporting:
- In October, the Ministry of Defence cleared more than 100 models of Ukrainian weaponry for service, including a range of aviation UAVs, EW systems and new large-calibre artillery rounds.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is already using the new Flamingo, Ruta and Neptune missiles, and that by the end of November the country plans to produce up to 800 interceptor drones per day.
