An "army of drones": Ukraine receives 100 large "birds", and soon there will be 200 

KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO — SATURDAY, 20 AUGUST 2022, 17:02

Ukraine has received about 100 large long-distance drones as part of the Army of Drones project, and expects to receive 100 more in the coming months.

Source: Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister of Digital Transformation, in an interview with Ukrinform 

Quote from Fedorov: "The front line is now almost 2,500 km long. There is also the depth of the front, which we have conditionally divided into four levels. The first line is up to 3 km, the second, third and fourth are 60, 70 and 120 km respectively.

So, for a 3-km zone, we need up to 10,000 drones. These are small ‘birds’ that can be used in everyday life. They are necessary for urban warfare and short-distance reconnaissance.

The other lines require large drones that can fly over long distances. We have already contracted more than 200 such drones. That’s roughly the number required for our military to be able to perform tactical tasks on the front line. They are starting to arrive gradually — about 100 units are already in Ukraine. I think we will have all the contracted drones by late October or early November."

Details: Fedorov noted that Ukraine needs to constantly maintain this number of drones.

"That is, regardless of how many of them are destroyed by the enemy, we must ensure they can be quickly replaced. To do this, we are constantly looking for opportunities to buy these drones, repair old ones, open repair hubs and, of course, train pilots on an ongoing basis. So far we have managed to raise about UAH 855 million to purchase new unmanned aerial vehicles," he said.

Background:

• In early July, the united24 fundraising platform, together with the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Ministry of Digital Information, announced the launch of the Army of Drones project. This is a programme that includes the systematic purchase, repair and prompt replacement of drones, as well as a pilot training course. 
• On 3 August, Ukraine received the first control system and four Fly Eye drones purchased with UNITED24 contributions as part of the Army of Drones project.

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