Ukraine Military to Get Addt’l $60M Monthly Budget for New Drones
Ukraine’s armed forces will receive an additional 2.5 billion hryvnia (nearly $60 million) to directly purchase drones.
The additional funding builds on the military’s previous allocation of 2.1 billion hryvnia (around $50 million) while enabling combat units to rapidly acquire what they need without relying on centralized acquisition and enhancing diversification.
Unit commanders “will have the flexibility to use these funds to acquire the drones that are the most effective for carrying out mission requirements at the front,” Ukrainian defense minister Rustem Umerov explained.
“This marks another step towards building a highly flexible system to ensure the military has everything necessary for Ukraine’s defense.”
Drone Warfare
Kyiv has been stepping up its drone acquisition and deployment efforts in its war against Russian forces, where it utilizes unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in attack operations, reconnaissance, and medical evacuations, among a diverse range of missions.
The defense ministry reportedly supplied over a million drones to the country’s armed forces last year, following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s announcement of Ukraine’s capability to locally produce up to four million drones per year.
Earlier this month, the embattled country deployed dozens of drones against Russia’s military and energy sites to stem Moscow’s advances.
Furthermore, Ukraine unveiled and launched for official deployment the latest addition to its drone arsenal, the Poseidon H10 MkIII UAS with enhanced capabilities against Russia’s electronic warfare countermeasures.
