As of the end of October, Ukraine has produced 1.28 million drones for the national armed forces throughout the ten months of 2024 and expects another 366,940 to be made by the end of this year, according to the Defense Ministry of Ukraine.
Among these are Deepstrike-kamikaze drones for attacks on russian targets located deep in the rear, as well as FPV-kamikaze drones for closer distances, DJI Mavic camera drones for reconnaissance, winged scout UAVs, and other types.
Read more: Ukraine's Drone Production Go Through the Roof: Plan to Make One Million in 2024 Exceeded
The totality of drones already contracted by the state for the 2024–2025 period is currently a record-breaking 1.8 million, with UAH 147 billion (~$3.5 bln) invested so far. The orders may be expanded later on.
The ministry also reminds that in addition to the ones procured in a centralized manner, there are also drones ordered by other state agencies, directly by military units, and provided by volunteer organizations, so the combined quantity of drones in operation with Ukrainian forces may be much higher. There are supplies from international partners, too: just the other day, the United Kingdom promised to deliver 300 large FPVs.
To understand the scale of the leap Ukrainian industry has made to reach these figures, let's compare to the 2023 statistics: 600,000 FPV drones were produced in the entire year, making the majority of all types then.
Earlier Defense Express reported that Ukraine has already met the state drone production plan for 2024 with a surplus. The plan was presented in late 2023, it foresaw that domestic manufacturers produce 10,000 medium-range attack drones, 1,000 drones with a range of over 1,000 km, and 1 million FPV drones this year.
Read more: Ukraine Tests High-Precision Munitions for Drones That Can Be Dropped from an Altitude of 1 km: A Significant Leap in Effectiveness
