Ukrainian homegrown brand relies on “people’s drones”
January 14, 2024, 3:31 pm Listen to the article
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Ukraine plans to produce one million small drones this year. Working from home should also help: on a digital course, Ukrainians can learn how to assemble aircraft for the army.
Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov called on Ukrainians to assemble drones for the army. In light of the Russian hack, the government changed guidelines for drone manufacturers, making mass production possible, Fedorov writes on Facebook. One million drones per year is now a realistic goal.
To give even more impetus to this development, the Digital Minister appealed to his compatriots to support a project to build “people's drones”. The private organization “Victory Drones” offers an “engineering course” in which you can learn how to assemble a seven-inch first-person view drone at home.
So-called FPV drones are typically used for hobby purposes, but in this war they have become a “game changer”, emphasizes Fedorow. However, experts point out that Russian troops in Ukraine are also increasingly using drones. Construction and technical development in this area are therefore a race in the “war of the armaments industries”.
Fedorow's recommended course includes video lessons, kits, and access to a community for advice and questions. The finished drones would undergo a quality check and, after successful testing, would be handed over to the Ukrainian army. So far, more than 80% of drones have passed the tests.
Before Christmas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced at a press conference the goal of producing one million FPV drones per year in Ukraine. According to estimates by the Ukrainian online newspaper “Ukrainian Pravda”, Ukraine is already capable of producing around 500 thousand of these drones per year.