In Kyiv, away from prying eyes, hundreds of engineers and innovators met with senior military officials to discuss ways to better neutralize the Russian suicide drones that are still destroying Ukrainian cities.
“Today’s war is technological, changes in technology and on the battlefield occur daily“, - said Mikhail Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Digital Transformationson the sidelines of the meeting, writes Reuters.
In May, Russia attacked Ukraine with a record monthly number of more than 300 drones, according to official figures, posing a challenge to planners seeking to protect energy supplies this winter. Last winter, a terrorist country tried to disable the power grid with air strikes.
Iranian drones fly so low that they can avoid detection by air defenses, and their navigation systems are reliable enough to be difficult to shoot down with electronic warfare that jams radio frequencies. The West is supplying sophisticated air defense systems to counter missile attacks, but shooting down swarms of $50,000 worth of drones with $1 million worth of missiles is not ideal, officials say.
“This is unprofitable, so we need to constantly reduce the cost of funds used to destroy the shaheeds.Fedorov said. - We are talking about the detection of drones using acoustic and other means, as well as their own destruction.
Drones have been used extensively in the wars in Yemen, Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh, but never before as powerfully and en masse as in Ukraine, officials say.
“This is truly an unprecedented drone war.” Fedorov said, adding that there has been a boom in military technology innovation in Ukraine since the Russian invasion.
Read also: “Cotton” in the suburbs: drones attacked a military base and made a commotion at the Vnukovo airport
Last year, Ukraine launched a crowdfunding project to create an “Army of Drones”, which has grown into a state-wide program covering everything from the production of unmanned aerial vehicles to the training of pilots.
“A few months after the start of a full-scale invasion, everyone realized that the most effective way to conduct reconnaissance and defeat the enemy is with unmanned aerial vehicles.“, - said Brigadier General Yuri Shchigol.
Mr. Shchigol, who oversees procurement under the state program, said that 15,000 drones have been purchased to date, with most of them received through the Ministry of Defense, and the rest thanks to foreign aid and volunteers. The total number of drones used by Ukraine on the battlefield is unknown.
“Our goal this year is to procure over 200,000 strike and large reconnaissance drones… We will buy as many drones as are available on the market“, - said Yuri Shchigol.
Mikhail Fedorov said drone production is now taking place across Ukraine despite the threat of Russian air strikes, adding that manufacturers have been ordered to spread work across sites and use bomb shelters for part of the production process. More than 80% of the purchased drones are Ukrainian-made and assembled in Ukraine.
Read also: “God’s execution for Uman”: intelligence and the Armed Forces of Ukraine commented on the destruction of an oil depot in Sevastopol by drones
Anatoly Khrapchinsky, who works for a firm that develops electronic warfare technologies, compared Ukraine’s approach to technological innovation with Russia’s. While the Russian approach is top-down and dominated by state organizations, in Ukraine the driving force is the private sector, with many small companies involved, he said. State venture capital is helping to expand domestic production, he said, and Ukraine has an advantage over Russia because it can share technology with foreign partners and not worry about sanctions.
“Thanks to the funds, companies are beginning to localize production. Today we buy parts all over the world, including in China. But localization is gradual.“, Fedorov added.
Earlier, FACTS published the point of view of Maxim Muzyka, the head of UA Dynamics, which developed the Punisher multiple strike drone, who believes that we have every chance of losing to Russia in the drone war.
Source: Fakty
I am Joseph Zeman, a journalist who mostly covers world news for the Daily News Hack. I pride myself on being able to find and report stories that others might miss. I have a knack for being able to see both sides of every issue and this allows me to provide readers with well-rounded stories. In addition to my work as a journalist, I am also an author and have written several books on current affairs.
