Ukraine’s Octopus interceptor drone goes into serial production
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UK PM Keir Starmer examining a prototype model of the Octopus UAV (Photo: Zelenskyy / Telegram)
Developed as a cost-effective counter to swarms of Russian kamikaze UAVs, the Octopus interceptor drone is now in mass production, Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on Nov. 14.
Shmyhal said its manufacturing has already been licensed to three initial producers, and 11 more companies are preparing production lines.
“Octopus is a Ukrainian counter-Shahed technology developed by the Armed Forces and battle-tested,” the minister said in a Facebook post.
“It operates at night, even when jammed and at low altitudes. By moving into serial production, we ensure it will protect Ukraine’s skies as soon as possible.”
The Defense Ministry is pursuing an open innovation policy with domestic manufacturers, Shmyhal added, to speed the transition from prototype to combat systems that can be of use in the war.
On Nov. 12, Bloomberg reported that Ukraine has become one of the world’s leading drone producers, manufacturing about 4 million UAVs of various types annually.
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine aims to manufacture 600 to 800 interceptor drones per day by the end of November.
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