Ukraine has emerged as a "drone superpower," meeting battlefield demands while enhancing its footprint in global markets. Ukrainian companies produce four million various types of UAVs annually. This information comes from Bloomberg.
It notes that among the drones are both affordable FPVs and long-range strike drones. In comparison, the U.S. produces about 100,000 military drones each year.
"It’s not just the quantity — but the diversity. Probably more than all NATO countries combined," stated RAND analyst Michael Bonert.
Some Ukrainian drone manufacturers have already entered the EU market. For instance, Skyeton has opened a facility in Slovakia and formed partnerships with Denmark and the UK. This company manufactures reconnaissance UAVs capable of flying for up to 24 hours.
Another domestic company, TSIR, is currently operating in Finland, preparing to launch a UAV production line. Eventually, they plan to manufacture drones for NATO.
Funding remains a critical factor. The FlyWell consortium, which unites several Ukrainian drone companies, aims to raise around $50 million for additional European manufacturing and research projects, including developing hydrogen elements for powering drones. Establishing production in Europe will provide a secure environment, as they will be out of reach of Russia.
New solutions are also being developed by European companies. Finnish Summa Defence is self-funding its production and has already created prototypes of three models that can enter mass production right after testing in Ukraine. Part of the output will go to NATO countries, but Ukraine is the priority.
Previously, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the launch of mass production of a new drone model, which will serve as an alternative to Chinese Mavic UAVs. He stated that the alternative has been found, but no details have been disclosed yet.