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Member of Falcon unit sending Ukrainian drone Leleka to air in Kostiantynivka, Ukraine on April 18, 2023. (Oleksandr Magula/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
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The Ukrainian government has allowed Ukrainian Armed Forces' units to launch their own aircraft production, Taras Melnychuk, the government's representative in the parliament, wrote on Telegram on June 21.

A decree dating back to July 2000 that lists the economic activities military units can carry out was updated on June 21 during a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, Melnychuk said.

The change in the decree allows the Ukrainian Armed Forces to construct drones and other aircraft.

The Ukrainian government is attempting to ramp up domestic drone production and develop the use of unmanned aerial vehicles on the battlefield.

Strategic Industries Deputy Minister Hanna Hvozdiar said in March that Ukraine has the capacity to produce 150,000 drones every month and may be able to make 2 million drones by the end of the year.

Drones have become crucial on Ukrainian battlefields for both belligerents, serving multiple purposes, including reconnaissance, airstrikes, naval strikes, and guiding artillery.

Ukraine officially presented its Unmanned Systems Forces on June 11, four months after President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree ordering the creation of a separate branch of the armed forces tasked with improving drone operations.

Ukrainian Defense Industry: Kyiv catches up with Russia in Shahed drone analog production
Ukraine has caught up with Russia in the production of domestically-made kamikaze drones similar to Iranian-designed Shahed-131/136, Herman Smetanin, the head of the state-owned Ukrainian Defense Industry company, said in an interview with ArmyInform published on May 8.
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