Plant to Produce Drones for Ukraine Opened in the Netherlands

The Netherlands has launched a large-scale production of ground and aerial drones and military batteries for its own army and Ukraine.

This is reported by DefenseMirror.

The production was launched at the VDL site in Born. The initiative is being implemented in close cooperation with three leading companies: Milrem Robotics, Tulip Tech and DeltaQuad.

Dutch Minister of Defense Ruben Brekelmans signed the relevant agreements with the project participants and characterized it as a necessary acceleration of European defense capabilities amid the war in Ukraine.

The project is noted as one of the fastest launches of defense production in the country’s history: the first production lines were launched in a few months, while it usually takes years.

The Ministry of Defense leased 120,000 square meters of production space, where the existing infrastructure allowed for immediate start-up. Former VDL employees were also hired to support the production.

The partnership between the Dutch Ministry of Defense and VDL will last for at least ten years, with additional production lines planned to open in the coming months.

For the Netherlands, this project is of strategic importance, as it aims to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers and increase autonomy in the production of military equipment.

The equipment coming off the lines in Born – from drones to power systems – will directly support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In September, it became known that the Ukrainian defense technology cluster Brave1 entered into the first international R&D partnership with the leading Dutch organization TNO.

It is noted that this format of cooperation opens up the possibility of attracting the leading international scientific community to address the urgent technological needs of the front.

TNO focuses, in particular, on autonomous systems, decision support, acoustic systems and underwater warfare, electromagnetism and military operations, individual and organizational effectiveness, protection, ammunition and weapons.