Ukraine’s $540 million drone budget highlights UAVs’ critical role

Ukraine is doubling down on its deployment of drones in its efforts to oust invading Russian forces, pledging nearly half a billion dollars’ worth of spending for the production and procurement of UAVs – many to be made by domestic companies.

Given the critical, albeit unexpected role both military and consumer drones have played in allowing Ukraine to resist a nearly year-long invasion that Moscow strategists thought would be over in just days, the $541 million 2023 budget for UAVs shouldn’t be surprising. That commitment was initially revealed by the country’s Defense Ministry in a social media post, saying it aimed to meet “the needs and requests of the Ukrainian army.”

Read: Ukraine’s Army of Drones expands pilot training as UAV fleets grow 

Despite the abundance of foreign-made drones that have poured into Ukraine by supporters from abroad since Russia invaded last February 24, the funding announcement noted moves are already…