According to Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation, the country continues to improve UAVs to strike targets in Russian Federation terror territory.
"Most drones used to attack Russian oil refineries have a range of 700 to 1,000 kilometers, but currently there are models capable of flying more than 1,000 kilometers," Fedorov said. He also noted that the first UAVs with artificial intelligence could be developed by the end of the year.
According to the minister, Ukraine has increased the production of UAVs tenfold compared to 2023. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier set a goal to produce at least 1 million drones in 2024.
Fedorov said that the enterprises are working according to the plan, but are striving to exceed the target. The production includes various types of drones: FPV drones (First Person View), reconnaissance, transportation, combat, maritime, and kamikaze drones.
In February, Zelenskyy noted that 90 percent of drones used on the frontline were manufactured in Ukraine. At the same time, Deputy Defense Minister Kateryna Chernogorenko said that it was necessary to receive $1.5bn from Western countries to increase the production of UAVs in Ukraine. Later, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry announced the launch of a "drone coalition" that included several European countries.
The development of unmanned systems is one of the key tasks for the Ukrainian army, the AFU commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyy, has said. He noted that technical equipment plays an important role in ensuring superiority over the enemy, and the development of UAVs becomes a priority.
Not only long-range drones are developing, but also the FPV sphere. In January-February 2024, Ukrainian manufacturers produced about 200,000 FPV drones, Deputy Minister for Strategic Industries Anna Gvozdyar said in a commentary for Forbes Ukraine.
However, as Minister Fedorov stated, it is not yet possible to say who is winning the technological war. "In some areas, we are winning, in other areas, the Russians are surpassing us," he noted.
