“The war in Ukraine has become a testing ground not only for military strategies but also for technology. Victory today depends not only on the power of weapons, but also on how quickly we learn and adapt to new challenges.”, – WRITE: www.pravda.com.ua
The increase in the needs of the front has pushed the rapid development of the whole ecosystem: there were dozens of engineering teams that create new solutions from scratch, and the production capacity of drones increased more than ten times a year. In fact, a new way of fighting is emerging in our eyes – the one where victory is determined not only by the amount of metal, but by the flexibility of thinking and the speed of innovation.
From the kitchen to production My story reflects this techno -plot. A few years ago, I collected the first drones in my own kitchen and tested them almost in the trenches – without a budget, without a team, only through curiosity and desire to help the front. There are many such stories: there are enthusiasts in home workshops around the country, wires have been sold, old components were sorry, and studied on the go. What began as a volunteer movement grew into a new industry.
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For example, back in 2014–2015, enthusiasts, the first to taught our military aero-intelligence and punched bureaucratic walls to recognize the drones as part of the army. At the same time, hundreds of operators were prepared and a bet on the development of unmanned systems, although it was not a “mainstream”. Today Ukraine has More than 200 drones manufacturers And serial production is calculated by hundreds of thousands of units a year.
Our company “Ukrainian Aviation and Space Technologies”, having passed this path, has grown from one engineer with a soldering iron to the enterprise, which in 30 days releases about about about 50,000 drones and reb systems. We have opened offices, launched modern production lines and now set a goal to produce 3000 drones per dayto completely close the needs of the front. This is a tremendous path – from a kitchen table to an industrial conveyor – which was made possible by the mass support of society and the phenomenal motivation of people.
My story is far from the only one. At the same time, dozens of similar initiatives have gone across the country – from a home workshop to mass production. High -tech companies have grown from such modest endeavors, and some of them turned into real giants in a few years, establishing mass production of drones. So gradually from the disparate experiments of enthusiasts a whole branch of unmanned technologies was formed.
Three stages of development of drone industry 2022: Modifications era
The beginning of a full -scale war was marked by almost complete dependence on civilian drones – in particular DJI Mavic. According to the Ministry of Defense, 87% of drones at the front were Chinese production at that time. Ukrainian engineers quickly adapted to the reality of the war and learned:
– increase the range from 5 to 15 km;
– to establish discharge mechanisms of own production;
– integrate thermal imagers and other useful modules.
It was a time of “knee” decisions – modifications that made it possible to solve critical tasks here and now.
2023: First Serial Products and FPV Revolution
It was this year that became a turning point for the transition from single solutions to system production.
If in 2022 Ukrainian companies produced only 3-5 thousand drones, then for 2023 volumes increased to approximately to 300,000. At the same time, the cost of one FPV-arom has decreased with approximately 800 to $ 350. This allowed the front to be impressed with the impressive number of budgetary and effective platforms.
2024: systematic, integration, artificial intelligence
Today Ukrainian manufacturers do not just collect individual drones – they build whole Ecosystems. To production are added:
– missions management and planning systems;
-Reb solutions taking into account the field situation;
– intellectual modules and software based on AI;
– own training centers for operators and engineers.
It is no longer a single company, but a complete industrycapable of working at the pace of combat changes and be part of a technological advantage.
The scale has increased by order, and this is no longer a handicraft experiment, but New high -tech industry. The best of the effect of such a breakthrough is real examples from the battlefield: when the military is written to volunteers “Yesterday your drone destroyed the” beh “of the enemy’s landing – it saved us life”– nothing motivates to continue to work. Or when the Ukrainian business after the UAV course declares: “Decided to re -profile production, we plan to produce 200-300 drones per month”. Every such story is proof that the initiative from below is able to scale to a level that changes the course of war.
Such changes did not go unnoticed. The state also made conclusions and began to create the conditions for the development of the industry. The cancellation of VAT and duties on the import of components, the launch of grant programs and deregulation have accelerated the growth of the sector, but still assistance from the state should be larger, in order to accelerate the development of the industry.
The force we created ourselves The main factor that has accelerated these technological changes, – Direct cooperation between military and developers. Usually, creating new military equipment is a long process: years can be taken from writing a technical task (vehicle) to testing and adopting arms. But the Ukrainian war broke these canons. Engineers now work in close contact with combat units, receiving invaluable feedback almost daily. In some places, the developer should be understood even on battle tactics to offer a solution that will actually work on the front line.
How does it look like in practice? Commanders and fighters form a request for a specific task – in fact they set the parameters for a new vehicle – and often in a few weeks they get a ready -made engineering solution.
Quick experiments and field tests have become the norm. For example, our military faced massive attacks of enemy drones-Kamikadze-and Ukrainian experts promptly responded to the development of radio-electronic struggle systems (EWS), which “blazes” hostile drones. Our team was the first in Ukraine to create an IMMMIMMMMIR COLLECTION Complex and even developed drones that are governed fiber optic cable instead of radio signal. This means that enemy remedies are no longer capable of suppressing them – the solution was literal But in real time, the front request. Another case is the need to see targets at night and adjust the fire.
In less than a month, engineers integrated thermal imagers into the FPV-punks, and they began to effectively hunt for tanks even in the dark. There are many such examples, and they are all about one thing: When the Army and Engineers speak in common language, the “idea -prototype -implementation” cycle is minimized to minimize. Not surprisingly, the most productive crews of the Armed Forces now have powerful air intelligence, where each drone is part of a single mechanism on the battlefield.
Collaboration and flexibility gave us what they didn’t have before: The speed of change. In 2022, improvised drones of Ukrainians became a pleasant surprise for the enemy, changing the course of fighting in our favor. But in 2023 the Russians were pulled up: they quickly learned to copy our inventions and put them on the conveyor of the totalitarian industry.
Simply put, what was our advantage at first – drones, digital fire control systems, mobility – became available to the enemy. This is a painful lesson: one innovation can no longer hope that one innovation wins the war once and for all. The advantage will only continue until we keep the pace of joint development. And here is our trump card – a decentralized network of inventors, private companies and military, which is constantly exchanging ideas. The state begins to formulate these processes in the systemBy creating coordination headquarters and funds like Brave1, which have already provided hundreds of grants to Ukrainian developers. As a result, 96% of drones that the Ukrainian army now purchased is its own production. It is not just import substitution, but a paradigm change: the manufacturer in Ukraine has become a figure no less important than the commander on the battlefield.
New Challenges: What to Prepare Tomorrow The technological race continues and we cannot stop. The next stage is autonomy and artificial intelligence in military technologies. Experts are already predicting the transition of Ukrainian UAVs to greater autonomy in management. The bet is made and on Increasing the range and power. It is important that we have all the competencies for this: Ukrainian engineers are able to make at least a spacecraft – only the appropriate order and support of the state are needed.
In addition to offensive potential, the value increases Protection technologies. The enemy also takes over the experience and is already actively hunts for our drones using the electronic reconnaissance remedies to detect the starting point. Therefore, we are introducing new methods: driving drops, narrow -minded antennas, constant Relocation of the remote. In the coming months it is worth the appearance of even more complex communication masking systems and even fully robotic platformswhich will be able to fight autonomously, leaving a person from danger.
Conclusions Today we have taught a lot. The key lesson – the war has become a war of technology, and the one who builds more effective synergy between inventors and warriors will win in it. The Ukrainian military improves skills daily, and engineers continuously adjust their developments to the needs of the front – this evolution has become our answer to the challenges of war. Thanks to the close cooperation of the army, entrepreneurs and volunteers, we create not just individual weapons but the whole Ecosystem of interrelated technologies. Ukraine has already taken a huge step from importing other people’s decisions to its own high -tech breakthroughs. And most importantly – we do not stop. Every day, while the struggle is ongoing, we are looking for new ways to become stronger. In this ability to change it is the key to our future victory.
Vladlen Nikitin
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