Ukraine believes the key to its conflict with Ukraine lies in drones — UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) originally used to help artillery locate Russian targets, but now seen as weapons that can strike inside Russian territory.
Valery Borovych is one of the drone manufacturers, one of dozens of drone developers that have sprouted up across Ukraine. The first wave appeared in 2014 when Russia first invaded Crimea and parts of the Donbass, and eight years later Moscow launched its full-scale invasion.
The official gave the example of ‘Witzich’, a stealth drone that has a range of 40 km and is capable of carrying two to three kg of warheads. “We focused our attacks mainly on very expensive Russian equipment.” Borovyk emphasized that his company is ramping up its production after signing a contract with a factory in Ukraine that will increase production from 50 drones a month to more than 1,000. And they have many models in all shapes and sizes.
The operation is a small part of an industry built on Ukrainian ingenuity and survival instincts, which the government and the country’s military are willing to support. “Every few weeks, we conduct various surveys, see what’s happening in that direction, look for new drone developers and study the results,” explains Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov. “It’s really important for us to find companies that can scale, that can see new application forms, because it’s a technology war.”
“Drones are becoming more relevant on the front line because it’s an opportunity to conduct a targeted attack that helps reduce the focus of artillery,” he explained. “So we need tens of thousands of drones every month.”
Kiev launched a government initiative called ‘Drone Army’, which reduced import restrictions and taxes on drone technology, spurring the development of a local industry to better supply the armed forces. General Yuriy Shihol is in charge of procuring drones for the Ukrainian military, who wants Kiev to use all types of UAVs. “Each type of drone has a completely different application,” he underlined. “There is a need for cheap and expensive drones. and drones with different types of communication. The more models we have, the more communication channels we have, the more efficient our work will be.
The goal is to create mass production. “About 30 companies in Ukraine are already mass-producing these drones, and our goal is to buy up to 200,000 by the end of this year,” the official said. “So far we have signed contracts to buy 2,000. Each week, this process expands.
When the Moscow region was targeted by drones last Tuesday, the Kremlin blamed Ukraine. But who launched the UAVs, what type they are and where they were launched from is still a mystery. Recent attacks on Russian oil refineries and other targets suggest that Ukraine is developing models that can penetrate deep into Russian territory, but with smaller payloads.
Can Ukrainian drones reach Moscow? According to Fedoro, progress has been made on this front. “We are ramping up production of long-range drones,” he admitted. “I cannot comment here on the details of the tasks. But in that sense, a certain revolution in productivity measurement is also taking place.
Many drone developers realize that they are working on creating UAVs that can fly longer distances and carry larger payloads: some have already succeeded, as has Borovic. “From 15 to 700 kilometers, depending on the warship,” he says. “With one [ogiva] Above 20 kg, we can go to Moscow.