NAUDI has highlighted critical risks associated with procurement of fibre-optic FPV drones worth tens of billions of hryvnias
Drone Industry
The National Association of the Defence Industry of Ukraine (NAUDI) has called on the Ministry of Defence and the Defence Procurement Agency to review the technical specifications and introduce mandatory quality control during a large-scale procurement of fibre-optic FPV drones.
This was reported by Censor.NET.
Details
The Association warns that, under current conditions, the cheapest systems – which are unsuitable for combat use – could end up in the hands of the armed forces.
This concerns the procurement of hundreds of thousands of fibre-optic FPV kamikaze drones. According to NAUDI, the total cost could amount to several tens of billions of hryvnias.
NAUDI emphasises that the main criteria when procuring weapons should be their quality, reliability and safety for military personnel. According to the Association, the military are already encountering drones that do not perform their stated functions, require further modification directly on the front line or may pose a threat to personnel.
NAUDI identifies the quality of fibre-optic reels as one of the key issues. In the face of enemy electronic warfare (EW) measures, it is the integrity of the optical cable that ensures a stable link between the operator and the drone. According to the Association, in some models already in use by the military, the rate of breakages in low-quality fibre-optic cables exceeds 50 per cent.
At the same time, according to NAUDI, the technical procurement requirements do not specify a number of critically important parameters for the optical fibre — in particular, cable thickness, breaking strength and signal attenuation coefficient. Nor have some basic flight characteristics been specified, including the drone’s operating altitude, speed and take-off weight.
Separately, the Association drew attention to the product acceptance procedure. According to NAUDI, during an online meeting between market participants and the DPA, when asked which specific drone characteristics would be checked during acceptance, the Agency’s representatives replied: "None."
In NAUDI’s view, focusing exclusively on the lowest price in the absence of regulated quality checks creates the risk of supplying cheap products unsuitable for combat missions.
At the same time, the Association notes that this is the first procurement of this scale and hopes that shortcomings in the technical specifications can be rectified following consultations with manufacturers and other market participants.
"The main criterion for assessing effectiveness should not be the lowest price of the product, but the cost of hitting the target," NAUDI emphasised.
The Association points out that formal savings during procurement lose their meaning if a significant proportion of the cheaper drones fail due to technical faults before even reaching the target.
