In a boost to frontline agility, funds are being delegated to enable commanders to acquire new drones.

Ukrainian frontline commanders now have a dedicated monthly drone budget of UAH2.5 billion (USD60 million) to procure specific drones that meet their respective mission requirements, the government announced in a 21 January press release.

The Government of Ukraine first unveiled the scheme, which seeks to make tailored solutions more readily available to commanders, back in December. Following initial success, the delegated funds have now been increased from UAH2.1 billion to UAH2.5 billion per month.

The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine had not responded at the time of publication to DSEI’s questions concerning the process for frontline drone procurement and how the country is managing the rapid advances in the technology.

This initiative is part of efforts to embed greater flexibility within Ukraine’s military procurement, ensuring that commanders have “the drones that are the most effective for carrying out mission requirements”, Minister of Defence, Rustem Umerov said.

Drawing upon the country’s thriving domestic drone market, commanders have more choice and supply than ever before.

In 2024, Ukraine manufactured over 1.5 million first-person-view (FPV) drones, representing 96.2% of its total FPV arsenal, according to the minister. Kamikaze aircraft and quadcopters to reconnaissance drones and long-range strike uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) are amongst the other air-based models produced by Ukraine’s industry.

Uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs) are also in demand, with the Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov, saying “this year [2024] we purchased several thousand ground platforms, and next year, I believe, we need tens of thousands”. UGVs are already being used in evacuating wounded personnel and delivering ammunition to trenches.