Oleksandr Kamyshin, Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine, said that every month, Ukraine now produces dozens of Ukrainian-made drones similar to Iranian Shahed kamikaze models. Kamyshin spoke about this in his speech delivered during the annual European Business Association conference, as cited by Forbes.
According to Kamyshin, Ukraine’s defence industry is currently making a significant contribution to economic growth and is expected to become its main sector in the future. “When it comes to what some people have already named a ‘Ukrainian Shahed,’ for now, we won’t disclose the name of this model. I can say, however, that we have already started serial production of this project; we are able to produce dozens of drones per month now. In addition to this, we’ll be adding several other models that were previously produced on a considerably smaller scale. I can assure you that now we do have decent numbers”, the minister said.
Kamyshin also added that the current increase in production does not particularly cater to the government’s needs yet. “We aim to reach at least a tenfold production increase and preferably more. In many aspects, we have such growth”, he explained. The minister noted that the recent increase in production capacity does not involve integrating military hardware production businesses with Ukroboronprom (Ukrainian Defense Industry), Ukraine’s state manufacturer of weapons and defence hardware. According to Kamyshin, while the state-owned manufacturers continue their work, other investors are developing Ukraine’s private defence sector. “Today, many drone companies grabbed the opportunity and found the resources they cannot find elsewhere, on one of the state manufacturing plants”, he said. For example, the service centre at one of the state-owned plants provides assistance and support to small private drone companies. According to Kamyshin, this is a perfect example of how the state, with its resources, helps in development. “In this regard, the ‘Ukrainian Shahed’ appeared precisely at the state plant,” the minister said.
Earlier this month, Herman Smetanin, managing director at Ukroboronprom, said in an interview to Ukrainian online magazine Ekonomichna Pravda that Ukraine has started serial production of a new kamikaze drone. According to Smetanin, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have already placed order for the drones to be used in military operations on the frontline. “The new model has a record combat range of 1000 km,” said Smetanin, also noting that at the moment Ukraine has other kamikaze models available, “some of them more powerful than the Shaheds”.
