JAKARTA - The Ukrainian military plans an investment of nearly US$550 million or around Rp. 8,270,460,000,000 for drone procurement, while 16 supply deals have been signed with Ukrainian producer Oleksii Reznikov on Monday.
Both Ukrainian and Russian troops have used a variety of Non-Mutual Air Vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, for reconnaissance purposes and attacks during 11 months of war.
"In 2023, we will increase the procurement of UAVs for the Ukrainian Armed Forces," Defense Minister Reznikov wrote on Facebook.
"We plan to allocate around 20 billion hryvnia (Rp 8,182,200,650,000.) for this segment," he said.
Ukraine is known to have received significant supply of UAVs from its partners, ranging from Bayraktar TB2 equipped with Turkish missiles to Norwegian-made Black Hornet reconnaissance drones, which weigh less than 33 grams.
Kyiv is now seeking to increase domestic production to build what officials call "drone forces".
"The independence of the military industrial complex is one of the factors in the country's defense capabilities," wrote Defense Minister Reznikov.
Ukraine's military announced it would start making attack drone companies within its armed forces last week, while Reznikov said the Defense Ministry had received applications proposing 75 different Ukrainian-made drones.
"After consulting with the General Staff of the Armed Forces, following testing, the Ministry of Defense has completed 16 state contracts with Ukrainian UAV producers," he said.
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