How many drones Ukraine produced in 2024: MoD's names number
First Deputy Minister of Defense Ivan Havryliuk (Photo: RBC-Ukraine/Vitalii Nosach)
Ukraine has exceeded the drone production plan. In the interview with RBC-Ukraine, Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk, First Deputy Minister of Defense, said that this year alone, over 900 new models of weapons and military equipment have been approved for use.
He noted that Ukraine managed to exceed the drone production plans mentioned by former Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin at the end of last year. Kamyshin stated that in 2024, Ukraine plans to produce one million FPV drones, over 10,000 strike drones with an average flight range, and more than a thousand drones with a range of over a thousand kilometers.
"I won’t name any figures. But all indicators in this area, from these categories, have been exceeded. This is thanks to the creation of favorable conditions for the development of Ukraine's defense industry. That is, the Cabinet of Ministers created conditions that encouraged the expansion of production, scaling it up, and the creation of a large number of private enterprises," said Havryliuk.
The First Deputy Minister of Defense added that production has made significant strides in creating unmanned systems, particularly concerning both short-range and long-range unmanned aviation.
"A major step has also been taken this year in the development of ground robotic complexes and surface complexes. Overall, this year, more than 900 new models of weapons and military equipment have been codified and approved for use in the Defense Forces — this is over the nine months of 2024," he stated.
According to Havryliuk, since February 2022, over 200 unmanned aerial systems (UAS) of various types and purposes and more than 40 domestically produced ground robotic complexes (GRC) have been approved for delivery to the military. Most of them were produced in 2024. Over the past nine months of the current year, 140 UAS and 33 GRC have been approved for use.
Drone production in Ukraine
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukraine has significantly increased its drone production. Both state and private companies are involved in the development and production of drones in Ukraine.
Ukrainian manufacturers are developing strike drones, reconnaissance drones, as well as naval drones that target the Russian fleet.
Earlier, the government stated that Ukraine is capable of producing over 3 million drones of various types within a year.
According to the head of Ukraine's intelligence Kyrylo Budanov, domestically produced drones can hit targets at distances of up to 1,800 km.
