Ukrainian producers lead in applications for international Drone Coalition tenders

This was reported by the press service of Ukraine's Ministry of Defence.

Ukrainian manufacturers led in the number of applications in a series of international tenders for the production of UAV interceptor drones, submitting 32% of the total bids. Ukrainian companies also ranked second in the category of advanced FPV drones, with 26% of the submitted bids.

"This number of proposals from our companies proves that we are achieving our goal of scaling up drone production in Ukraine. This is already helping to create an asymmetric advantage in technology over the enemy. This is especially true in the context of interceptor drones, as our companies have the best expertise in the production and use of such technologies. We want to push the global industry to put such drones into mass production," said Kateryna Chernohorenko, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine for Digitalization.

The Ministry of Defense said that the call for applications for the production of advanced FPV drones ended in October, and the call for proposals for the development of interceptor drones ended on November 11.

"The winning companies will receive orders for drones that will be tested and evaluated. If their developments show good results at this stage, larger orders for FPV drones from the winning manufacturers are planned," the statement said.

Background. The Drone Coalition was established in February 2024 during the 19th Ramstein meeting. The initiative was proposed by Latvia and is coordinated jointly with the United Kingdom.

Ukraine has already received thousands of drones under the initiative. It is expected that the funds already accumulated by the Coalition for joint procurement (€71 million) will be used to purchase and deliver another 20,000 to 30,000 drones.

• The UK government has announced that it will allocate £7.5 million (about €8.8 million) for military assistance to Ukraine. The funds will be used to purchase attack and reconnaissance drones.