At a meeting on 24 March, the Cabinet of Ministers supported a resolution that creates favourable conditions for domestic UAV manufacturers and the establishment of mass production, according to the website of the Defence Ministry.
The resolution "On the implementation of the pilot project for defence procurement of domestically produced unmanned systems" simplifies all bureaucratic procedures in this area.
The document was developed by the ministries of strategic industries, defence, digital transformation and economy.
"From now on, manufacturers will be able to develop and compete with foreign companies. This is an opportunity to technologically strengthen our defenders at the front, as well as to actively develop our own drone production. This decree changes the approach to outdated bureaucratic rules and will meet the conditions of the modern world," the Defence Ministry said.
According to the ministry, last year, the procedures for accepting weapons and military equipment into service in the army were radically simplified, and conditions were created to stimulate business in the field of drone production and involve as many companies as possible in the process.
In addition, the resolution simplifies contracting, acceptance of goods, approval for operation, and delivery to the front.
According to Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, the Defence Ministry has already received applications from Ukrainian manufacturers for 75 UAVs of various types. Sixteen government contracts have already been signed with Ukrainian UAV manufacturers. And this year, the ministry is increasing the procurement of drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and plans to allocate about UAH 20 billion for this purpose.
"This is just the beginning. We are talking about developing a market for drones with a wide range of applications - air, land, and water. This includes adjusting artillery, striking the enemy (attack drones), delivering supplies, evacuating the wounded, etc. I am grateful to my colleagues from the Ministry of Strategic Industry, the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Ministry of Economy, as well as the entire Cabinet of Ministers for this important decision," Reznikov said.
In January, the Defence Ministry, the General Staff of the Armed Forces and the State Special Communications Service established a Coordination Headquarters to implement a project to create drone strike companies.