Ukraine has already ordered over US$72m worth of drone interceptors, says Ukraine's defence minister
Ukraine has already signed four contracts for drone interceptors worth over UAH 3 billion (approx. US$72 million).
Source: a statement from Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal
Quote: "The state is developing the Ukrainian drone interceptor market. Yesterday, three manufacturers were awarded contracts. In total, we now have four contracts worth over UAH 3 billion. We will continue to scale up these technologies."
Details: The defence minister also noted that, together with First Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, he met with the Brave1 cluster, the Ministry of Digital Transformation team, drone manufacturers and Ukraine’s largest volunteer foundations. He said the focus was on ensuring that Ukrainian soldiers on the front line are provided with UAVs.
Quote: "Special attention was given to drone interceptors capable of countering Russian Shaheds. The president has tasked us with developing this field. We now have four state contracts with manufacturers. This week we also talked with major state-owned banks about lending to manufacturers under state guarantees."
More details: The minister also reported that the Defence Ministry is negotiating with international partners to secure funding for the purchase of such interceptors, and that initial agreements have already been reached.
Background:
- Recently, Ukraine's Defence Procurement Agency Director Arsen Zhumadilov stated that the agency had awarded contracts for tens of thousands of drone interceptors.
- Earlier, Head of Kyiv City Military Administration Tymur Tkachenko announced the launch of a "full-fledged" drone interception system to protect Kyiv. He said UAH 260 million (approx. US$6.2 million) would be allocated to the initiative.
- Ukrainian company Odd Systems also recently announced a strategic partnership with Danish defence group Terma Group to jointly develop a cost-effective, AI-powered drone interceptor.
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