The Ukrainian government is set to significantly increase its procurement of strike drones, with plans to acquire 4.5 million FPV drones in 2025.

This was announced by Hlib Kanievskyi, Director of the Procurement Policy Department at Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence.

“The Ukrainian defense industry’s capacity in 2025 is expected to reach around 4.5 million FPV drones, and the Ministry of Defence intends to purchase all of them,” Kanievskyi stated.

To achieve this, the Ministry of Defence will allocate over 110 billion UAH for drone purchases, with more than UAH 102 billion to be channeled through the Defense Procurement Agency.

According to Kanievskyi, all procurement plans for 2025 have been allocated budget funds. This will allow for the rapid supply of unmanned aerial vehicles to the frontlines.

He added that licensed drone production at one of the state-owned enterprises, as announced by the Ministry in January that year, would have a positive impact on competition. Minimal markups and government oversight at all stages of production will encourage other suppliers to lower their prices.

The announced contracting plans for UAH 102 billion symbolize significant adjustments to the defense budget, as back in December Kanievskyi announced plans to finance FPV drone purchases for only UAH 44 billion.

“If last year, the primary financial focus was on purchasing long-range deepstrike systems, this year, over UAH 44 billion is allocated for the acquisition of FPV drones, including fiber-optic models,” stated the Director of the Procurement Policy Department on February 20.

In total, Ukrainian state procurement agencies acquired approximately 1.5 million drones last year, reflecting a threefold increase in the planned drone contracts.

Kanievskyi noted that 96% of the procurement budget had been allocated to Ukrainian manufacturers and suppliers, which had had a positive impact on the development of Ukraine’s UAV production industry.

Defense budget and drones

According to new announcements, the share of drone purchases this year will be 1/5 of the planned defense budget for arms purchases, which is expected to reach almost UAH 500 billion.

To accelerate supply, the Ministry of Defence has launched a new supply model, with the key innovation being the implementation of the DOT-Chain system in drone procurement. It notes that that system is already successfully functioning in non-lethal procurements and will now help to:

• Deliver drones to the front faster – units will be able to select the UAVs they need themselves, reducing delivery time from months to just a few weeks.
• Support manufacturers – they will receive forecasted orders and be able to plan for production scaling.
• Create transparent rules – clear supply mechanisms will stimulate competition and market development.

The system will give brigades the ability to independently determine which drones they need based on the situation on the battlefield. At the same time, manufacturers will receive a clear picture of demand and will be able to plan their production more effectively.