AFU to receive record-breaking drone deliveries in 2024-2025, with over UAH 147 billion allocated

Previously, the President of Ukraine announced plans for the production of 10,000 medium-range strike drones, 1,000 long-range drones (over 1,000 km), and 1 million FPV drones for the Armed Forces. Last week, Deputy Defense Minister Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk confirmed that Ukraine's 2024 drone production target has already been surpassed, Defense Express reports.

To date, 1.28 million drones have been manufactured in the first 10 months of 2024. Out of UAH 114 billion contracted for two years, around UAH 81 billion has been utilized within almost a year, as reported by Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense.

Over the next two months, manufacturers are set to deliver an additional 366,940 drones, including Deepstrike drones, FPV drones, DJI Mavic reconnaissance copters, and other models.

By year-end, the Armed Forces are expected to possess more than 1.6 million drones of various types. For perspective, Ukraine produced 600,000 FPV drones in 2023, which made up a large portion of total production.

For 2025, 155,205 units have been contracted at a cost of UAH 32.33 billion, including deep-strike UAVs, FPV kamikaze drones, reconnaissance aircraft, and copters.

It’s noted that the Armed Forces’ goal of 1.8 million drones is not a final limit, as other Defense Forces entities, volunteers, and international partners contribute additional UAVs. For instance, the United Kingdom plans to supply 300 large FPV drones by the end of 2024 and, if successful, to provide up to 500 units monthly.