Ukraine needs hundreds of thousands of UAVs, says Defense Minister Reznikov
Oleksiy Reznikov speaks during a meeting with UAV manufacturers (Photo:Ministry of Defense of Ukraine)
The Ukrainian army needs hundreds of thousands of UAVs or unmanned aerial vehicles, sometimes called drones, to fight against Russia, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Feb. 4 at a meeting in Kyiv with more than 100 Ukrainian developers and manufacturers of UAVs.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the meeting was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, Minister of Strategic Industries Pavlo Ryabikin and a representative of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Reznikov stressed Ukraine had to support the development of its UAV market. He said the Ministry of Defense aims to help develop the drone market so that it can meet demand for a wide range of military applications.
"We’re talking about adjusting artillery fire, and about inflicting damage on the enemy (strike drones), and about the delivery of military equipment, evacuation of the wounded, and so on,” Reznikov told those at the meeting.
“Currently, the needs of the Defense Forces of Ukraine are calculated to be hundreds of thousands of UAVs of various types. Work to meet these needs continues – in particular, in the first eight months of full-scale war (by Russia on Ukraine), more UAVs were put into operation than in the last five years.”
Discussions at the meeting focused on the topic of the need to create an association to represent the interests of manufacturers. Both the UAV manufacturers and the Ministry of Defense supported this idea.
Reznikov also presented several drone manufacturers with certificates of registration with the defense ministry, meaning that their products were now certified for military use.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
