Three years of reporting, funded by our readers — become a member now and help us prepare for 2025.
Goal: 1,000 new members for our birthday. Gift a membership to your friend and help us prepare for what 2025 might bring.
Become a member Gift membership
Skip to content
Edit post

Minister: Ukraine already produced 50,000 FPV drones in December

by Nate Ostiller and The Kyiv Independent news desk December 20, 2023 4:01 PM 1 min read
FPV drones hanging on a wall at an Adam Group base in Donetsk Oblast on Aug. 3, 2023. (Photo: Francis Farrell/Kyiv Independent)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Ukraine has already produced 50,000 first-person-view (FPV) drones in December, Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin said on Dec. 20.

FPV drones are cheap to manufacture and can be precisely flown into targets. They have the capability of destroying much more expensive military equipment.

Kamyshin said in October that Ukraine aimed to massively scale up its production of drones to tens of thousands per month.

He added on Dec. 10 that Ukraine has the capability to produce 10,000 mid-range drones and 1,000 long-range drones, which can fly more than 1,000 kilometers, in 2024.

The full-scale invasion has fueled a significant increase in the production of drones, as well as their technical innovation.

Ukraine's "Army of Drones" is a joint initiative of the Digital Transformation Ministry and the governmental UNITED24 fundraising platform. It was launched in July 2022, with Star Wars actor Mark Hamill as the initiative's ambassador.

In addition to procuring drones, the initiative is tasked with repairing drones and training soldiers on how to operate them.

Deadly drone arms race intensifies as Ukraine, Russia embrace the future of war
At this stage of a war that could last years more, both Ukraine and Russia are getting serious with their drone game: ramping up production while always looking to come up with new innovations.
Three years of reporting, funded by our readers.
Millions read the Kyiv Independent, but only one in 10,000 readers makes a financial contribution. Thanks to our community we've been able to keep our reporting free and accessible to everyone. For our third birthday, we're looking for 1,000 new members to help fund our mission and to help us prepare for what 2025 might bring.
Three years. Millions of readers. All thanks to 12,000 supporters.
It’s thanks to readers like you that we can celebrate another birthday this November. We’re looking for another 1,000 members to help fund our mission, keep our journalism accessible for all, and prepare for whatever 2025 might bring. Consider gifting a membership today or help us spread the word.
Help us get 1,000 new members!
Become a member Gift membership
visa masterCard americanExpress

News Feed

11:54 PM

Biden seeks to cancel over $4.5 billion of Ukraine's debt.

"We have taken the step that was outlined in the law to cancel those loans, provide that economic assistance to Ukraine, and now Congress is welcome to take it up if they wish," U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Nov. 20.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.