(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Development of Education, Science and technology - Minister for Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov named the priority tasks the Defense Forces set before manufacturers of unmanned aerial systems.
The official reported this on Telegram , Ukrinform saw.
"I met with 120+ drone manufacturers. There will be more drones," Fedorov noted.
According to the official, in 2022, Ukraine actually created a drone market from scratch.
"Now it's hundreds of companies. This is the result of a consistent policy and market opening. The open market is a game-changer, and it is our conscious position to allow everyone to enter and then create competition. That was the idea," Fedorov said.
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The vice prime minister noted that last year, Ukraine significantly scaled up the domestic production: 67 drone models received codification and 58 saw a state contract signed.
In total, there are more than 200 Ukrainian firms operating on the market that deal with UAV production or services and products in the UAV field, Fedorov said.
"At a meeting with manufacturers a few days ago, I emphasized that in 2024, companies need to scale up - because more drones are required," the head of the Ministry noted.
According to Fedorov, "we, for our part, continue to amend policies, adapt laws and work on streamlined contracting. Most importantly, now we need to standardize the requirements and tactical and technical characteristics for drones. It is also important for manufacturers to understand the outlook for contracts and the demand of the General Staff - we are working on that, too."
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Fedorov named priority UAV technologies for the development of the Ukrainian response to Russia's Lancet attack drone, AI for automatic target locking, guided munitions, targeting e-warfare systems and hitting them, anti-drone solutions, etc.
As the vice prime minister emphasized, "these are the priority tasks set by our Defense Forces before manufacturers so far. We are also actively working on developing a track of robotic platforms, ammunition, and EW - almost every week another unit receives codification according to NATO standards."
He recalled that the Brave1 military technology development cluster was launched last year, supporting innovators, issuing grants, and helping with commissioning and codification. According to Fedorov, there are plans to increase the amount of grants to $200,000 so that inventors can put up a high-quality prototype.
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"In addition to the drone manufacturers, the main stakeholders were at the meeting. I thank the Minister of Defense, Rustem Umerov, the head of the State Special Communications Service Yuriy Myronenko, the chief of the Defense Procurement Agency Maryna Bezrukova, and the head of the Central Directorate for Unmanned Systems at the General Staff Pavel Pozdnyakov for their common vision," Fedorov emphasized.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, referring to Mykhailo Fedorov, from January 15 to 29, attack drone operators receiving equipment from the Drone Army project hit 26 Russian main battle tanks.
This is an illustrative photo
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