General Cherry and ORQA to Build Underground UAV Components Plant in Ukraine

The Ukrainian company General Cherry and Croatian UAV manufacturer ORQA are starting joint production of drone components in Ukraine.

The partners aim to fully localize production to eliminate reliance on foreign parts, the Ukrainian company told Militarnyi.

As part of the Build in Ukraine program, they plan to build an underground facility to manufacture drone electronics and peripheral components.

Work on establishing the joint production facilities has already begun. Initially, production of flight stacks and communication systems will be localized in Ukraine, with plans to later expand to manufacturing all types of components for unmanned aerial vehicles.

In addition to the Ukrainian site, the companies are launching serial production in Croatia. There, they will develop advanced technologies by combining ORQA’s technical expertise with the Ukrainian manufacturer’s unique combat experience.

“We are ready to supply components to all our partners in Ukraine. This is a shared major aim – to eliminate Chinese components,” General Cherry said in a comment to Militarnyi.

The developers do not expect a significant increase in product costs due to the change in suppliers. In their view, technological independence is a necessary step the entire industry must take to ensure long-term security stability.

The Croatian company ORQA currently works with 24 NATO countries and manufactures equipment without using Chinese components.
Cooperation with the Ukrainian side is expected to take the localization of component production to a new level.

“We are launching a major partnership with a company that has a decade of experience and leading expertise in the UAV industry. We share a common goal: to jointly build a new architecture for European and global security,” said General Cherry co-founder Yaroslav Hryshyn.

General Cherry and the American corporation Wilcox Industries have announced the creation of a joint venture.

The Ukrainian side will contribute combat experience and technological developments, while the American partner will provide its scientific and technical base.