MoD state enterprise seeks drone suppliers for February–March, Nashi Hroshi reports
Drone Industry
The state-owned enterprise Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) is looking for manufacturers capable of producing the maximum number of strike drones and FPV drones on an extremely tight timeline — over the next two months, in February–March.
Nashi Hroshi wrote this, citing market participants whom the DPA approached.
"Since ordering and delivering parts from suppliers in China takes a month and a half, it is obvious that in these circumstances the biggest contracts will go to the manufacturer who, by some magic, would have guessed in advance about the upcoming procurement. And accordingly, would have been ready in advance to satisfy the DPA staff to the maximum at the most advantageous price for itself," the publication said.
According to the outlet, one of the manufacturers received contracts worth billions for FPV drones last year under this very scheme.
This situation arose because the General Staff and the Defense Ministry were unable to form a drone order for 2026 in advance, which caused problems with the planned delivery of weapons. As a result, the new team of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has to resolve them on an emergency basis to avoid a drone shortage at the front.
According to sources of Nashi Hroshi, in addition to two-month contracts, the DPA is also expected in the coming days to conduct a survey on manufacturers’ six-month capacities. This will allow contractors to calmly plan parts purchases and form competitive offers for the military.
"But if there are no six-month procurements, there will remain room for quite reasonable conjectures about how one manufacturer or another received a large, fast order for two months," the outlet added.
The General Staff determines which drones and in what quantity are needed. At the same time, the price of a drone is set by the manufacturer itself after receiving a confirmatory expert opinion from an expert organization, and it adds 25% of officially permitted profit.
According to Nashi Hroshi, due to suspicions of non-transparent state procurement, some foreign donors began financing directly Ukrainian manufacturers of those drones that are in demand in combat units.
As reported, according to the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), the projected production capacities of Ukraine’s defense-industrial complex this year are estimated at $55 billion, which is 55 times more than at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
