BREAKING NEWS: Ukraine defence ministry to invest $550 million on drones in 2023

Defence minister Reznikov says Ukraine plans to spend over $550 million on drones for the country´s armed forces to fight Russia 

Ukraine announced on Monday, January 30, that the government plans to invest about $550 million (€505 million) in building drones.  

This statement was made by Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine´s defence minister, who also said that 16 deals for supplies have already been signed by the government with manufacturers in the country. 

“In 2023, we are increasing the procurement of UAVs for the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” said Reznikov. 

He added, “We plan to allocate about 20 billion hryvnias ($547.05 million) to this segment”. 

Different types of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been used by Russians and Ukrainians since the war started 11 months ago, for the purpose of conducting reconnaissance and assaults. 

Turkey’s missile-equipped Bayraktar TB2 and the Black Hornet reconnaissance drone from Norway, are among the wide variety of drones used by Ukraine, that weigh less than 33 grams.  

Reznikov also said, “The independence of the military-industrial complex is one of the factors of the country’s defence capability”, as the country aims at boosting its domestic production for what the officials call an army of drones, as per Reuters.  

This comes after the Ukrainian government announced that companies will be created that manufacture assault drones within its armed forces.   

Reznikov said that the defence ministry received over 75 proposals for different Uranian-made drones, adding, “After consultations with the General Staff of the Armed Forces, after tests, the ministry has already concluded 16 state contracts with Ukrainian UAV manufacturers”.

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