Today, there are over 150 manufacturers of FPV drones in Ukraine. This has been made possible thanks to market liberalisation, explained Oleksandr Kamyshin, Presidential Advisor on Strategic Issues and former Minister of Strategic Industries, in an interview with Serhiy Zhadan for Radio Charter, published on LB.
These manufacturers emerged after 2023, and some companies are capable of producing more than 100,000 drones per month.
“And there are people who make dozens of them in their garages, at home, and we support this. It’s good because people feel involved, they feel useful in the war. You can buy a million drones a year from one company, or you can buy a smaller batch from a smaller manufacturer. I support the fact that local authorities or volunteers often buy from local manufacturers. It’s good – one thing leads to another,” he explained.
There is also the production of operational depth drones. Ukraine is currently forming a batch of orders for these drones from charitable foundations.
Kamyshin also spoke about a Ukrainian innovation – long-range UAVs that can strike enemy refineries. As of spring 2023, Ukraine had one prototype. Now, they are being manufactured by the hundreds.
“The target of 30,000 long-range drones for this year will be met. If the goal for this year is to produce 30,000, that means several thousand a month, dozens a day. I will tell you [Sergiy Zhadan] the story of the first product. The first batch was released in August 2023, the first use began in autumn, and the first successful hit was at the end of 2023. Our two main intelligence services believed in them and started using them. And when the first successful hits began, we exchanged messages with each other in the morning. I wrote: ‘Good morning to you,’ and I would get a reply: ‘Good morning to you too’. In this way, we confirmed the successful strike and what we saw, analysed, and prepared further,” he said.
The working title for the strikes on Russian refineries is “smash oil”.
“There’s a company in Russia called Bashneft (Башнефть). Once, their logo was slightly tilted, and the hashtag #ебашнефть (#smash_oil) went viral across Russia — it became a national meme. We decided to adopt it. But it’s not just about the economy; it’s about social security and jobs. Oil is their superpower,” explained the presidential advisor on strategic issues.