AFU to receive 3 mln FPV drones by year end - Shmyhal
Ukrainian defense forces will receive three million FPV drones by the end of the year, Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal hasannounced.
"The role of unmanned systems on the battlefield is growing, and therefore, the production of innovative tools of war is our number one priority. By the end of this year, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will receive three million FPV drones, which is almost 2.5 times more than the number of such drones delivered to the Armed Forces of Ukraine last year," he said on Telegram on Wednesday.
The minister noted that the vast majority of drones already in the arsenal of Ukrainian soldiers are domestically produced.
"This year, 2.4 million FPV drones were delivered to the army by the Defense Procurement Agency of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. Most of them are drones under direct contracts with manufacturers. The military received another 200,000 UAVs through the DOT-Chain Defence IT system, which was launched at the end of July," Shmyhal said.
Also, the arsenal of Ukrainian soldiers has increased the number of ground robotic complexes. This year, almost 15,000 of them were delivered to the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. "This is many times more than last year," the minister emphasized. According to him, the robots perform tasks in logistics, evacuation, reconnaissance, mining and demining, and patrolling. Some ground robots are equipped with combat modules, they conduct assault and defensive actions.