Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, spoke about the development of technologies that Ukrainian defenders use on the battlefield against Russian invaders. According to him, next year the number of guided drones will increase and new developments will appear.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, spoke about the development of technologies that Ukrainian defenders use on the battlefield against Russian invaders. According to him, next year the number of guided drones will increase and new developments will appear.
Next year, Ukraine will need «tens of thousands of unmanned ground robots» to deliver ammunition and supply infantry in the trenches and evacuate wounded soldiers, Fedorov told Reuters.
«This year we purchased several thousand ground platforms, and next year, I believe, we require tens of thousands,» the head of the Ministry of Digital Affairs noted.
According to Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukrainian production of long-range drones has increased tenfold since 2023, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has set a goal of producing 30,000 units of deep-destroying weapons next year.
The article indicated that Russia launches thousands of long-range drones every month, making extensive use of inexpensive «decoys» that wear out Ukraine’s air defense forces, which see the blip on radar and are forced to shoot it down.
In November, the Russian Federation began to use small plywood «Molniya» UAVs with a warhead against Kharkiv. Previously, they were used mostly as decoys for Ukrainian air defense, but now they pose a mortal danger to Kharkiv residents, who say that they do not raise air alarms.
According to Fedorov, Ukraine also uses decoy drones and sometimes launches more strike drones on a given night than Russia.
«Russia has improved monitoring of (Ukrainian) drone launches, responding quickly and targeting launch sites. These nuances require a constant change in the way of launch and communication.»
Fedorov noted that Ukraine has strike drones that can fly at a distance of up to 1,800 km. Earlier, the former Minister of Strategic Industry Oleksandr Kamyshin said that the port infrastructure of Russian St. Petersburg was attacked by Ukrainian drones with a flight range of 1,250 kilometers. Subsequently, Ukrainian sources of The Economist stated that Ukraine already has drones capable of covering a distance of 3,000 km and striking targets deep in Russian territory.
The head of the Ministry of Statistics also confirmed that Ukraine is working on drones to intercept Shahed attack drones, which Russia uses for night attacks on Ukrainian cities.
«There are certain tests by certain companies that produce… aircraft that, thanks to specialized software and radars, can hit the Shaheds, but it is still at the stage of research and development. There are certain results,» he said.
It also recently became known that two American technology companies, IronNet and Asterion Systems, have created an anti-UAV system, which is called a potential «game changer» in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
According to Fedorov, Ukraine this year signed a contract to buy 1.6 million drones, of which 1.3 million have been delivered, including low-cost first-person-view (FPV) drones that have cameras that allow remote pilots to guide them to their goals.
Ukraine also uses dozens of domestic artificial intelligence systems that allow drones to reach targets on the battlefield without the participation of a pilot, allowing them to remain effective in the face of strong WED countermeasures. Fedorov added that 10 companies are constantly competing in government procurement, offering products with artificial intelligence.
«I think the percentage of autonomous drones with targeting will increase significantly next year. Perhaps we will see the first real applications of drone swarms, although not on a massive scale. The first steps will be taken,» he said.
We will remind that in October, the Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine Herman Smetanin talked about the tests of new Ukrainian developments — «swarms of drones» and guided munitions.
