Ukraine is increasing drone production 100 times, but it’s still not enough. Mykhailo Fedorov talks about UAH 4 billion for UAVs, 40,000 Starlink, and prospects — highlights from iForum.
By the end of 2023, the number of manufacturers that can sell their UAVs to the state will almost double to 70. Last summer, there were only seven of them. Drone warfare is the main topic of Mykhailo Fedorov’s speech at one of the largest tech conferences iForum, — Forbes Ukraine reports.
The key message is that there will be enough drones only when Ukraine exists within the 1991 borders for at least 10 years, including Crimea. Only then will we be able to say that there are enough drones. Until then, we need to work on technology and invest in UAVs. The more drones we have, the fewer people we will lose.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation has changed its focus from Diia to digitalization. We continue to launch new services every month, but the focus is on the war. A year ago, we became more familiar with the topic of UAVs. Six months ago, we launched a comprehensive production program.
Every week, new companies and offers appear that can be used in the war. We realized that if we don’t start large-scale production of UAVs in Ukraine, we won’t be able to quickly de-occupy our territory and defend the country.
Then we gathered all the Defense Forces: The Security Service of Ukraine, the General Staff, and the Main Intelligence Directorate, and asked them what kind of UAVs they needed to fulfill all their goals. After that, we gathered all the manufacturers we could find at the time – 78 companies. It was December 2022. We asked: “What have you done over the past year?”, “What are your problems?”.
After that, we actively started solving these problems, fighting for the budget so that it could be allocated from other areas to UAVs.
By the end of this year, UAV production in Ukraine will have increased 100-110 times, but this is still not enough. There will be enough drones when we win and Russia cannot move in our direction.
