Ukraine Drone Tsar Reveals Plans for Fleet Expansion

Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov begins every day with the latest battlefield videos shot by Kyiv's deadly drone fleet.

"Every morning I start by watching a video of the enemy equipment destroyed by our 'birds,'" Fedorov told Newsweek in an exclusive interview.

"Their results are truly impressive. With a few thousand dollars' worth of drones, they destroy millions in Russian hardware." Among the past week's claimed drone kills are 25 tanks, nine artillery pieces and 39 Russian troops.

Fedorov's broad list of responsibilities includes innovation in education, science, technology, and digital transformation. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the vice prime minister has been at the forefront of Kyiv's drone program.

"Ukraine is on its way to become a world leader in drones production," Fedorov said. "The experience we are getting right now is unique, in terms of its usage, constant improvement of technologies, the research and development process, and scaling the production."

"After the war ends, Ukraine will have a unique experience and every chance to become a major exporter of UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] in the world," he added. "After all, each of these drones has not just been tested at a training ground somewhere, it has been tested in a real war. I am sure the Ukrainian experience of drone usage in this war will be studied by other countries in the future."

Army of Drones

Ukraine's "Army of Drones" program—supported by its UNITED24 fundraising campaign—has supercharged its indigenous UAV program and produced potent unmanned naval weapons now harassing Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

"From a sub-project of UNITED24, the 'Army of Drones' has transformed into a large state program for developing national UAV production," Fedorov explained. "We have removed the majority of industry blockers to ease the running of a business. We help Ukrainian UAV manufacturers to receive all kinds of required approvals, we contract their developments and supply them directly to the frontline."

Fedorov said Kyiv has grand ambitions. "As part of the 'Army of Drones,' 40 models of Ukrainian drones have been verified and already serve the needs of the army," the vice prime minister said. "A year ago, there were only seven such models. But we are working to scale this number tenfold."

"In a year, Ukrainian drone's industry produces different types of drones: FPV [first person view], strike, bombers, large-radius drones. Prior to the full-scale invasion, Ukraine's industry has been focused mostly on air reconnaissance. It's a major shift."

Drones have been central to the full-scale war since it began on February 24, 2022. On both sides, soldiers have come to rely heavily on frontline reconnaissance capabilities of UAVs—whether sophisticated or commercial grade—to guide artillery and support assaults.

Both have also incorporated drones as offensive weapons, using them as "kamikaze" one-way weapons or as bombers rigged with relatively small payloads. The whirring of overheard drones has become as much a part of the front-line cacophony as the crackle of small-arms fire and the boom of artillery.

Fedorov said the development of "UAV strike units" was among the most notable "game-changing innovations."

"We've already launched 11 such units," he said. "There will be more. They are working with a completely new approach to training, management, and doctrine of using drones on the front line."

Kyiv has been using its new drone arsenal to hit Russian targets at short and long range. Multiple high-profile attacks deep within Russia—most of which Ukrainian leaders have denied involvement in—have unsettled the Kremlin and embarrassed Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In recent weeks, a new homegrown long-range kamikaze drone—known as "the Beaver"—has emerged, reportedly even used in the latest strikes on the Russian capital.

After the latest attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country "is getting stronger, and the war is gradually returning to Russia's territory, to its symbolic centers and military bases."

"This is an inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair process," the president added.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry by email to request comment.

Modern Warfare

Kyiv's forces have embraced new technology in their war with Moscow, wielding various advances against their more numerous but less agile enemies. Drones have proved somewhat of an equalizer, accentuating the vision and clout of Ukrainian front-line infantry units that have often been outnumbered and outgunned.

"When we started the 'Army of Drones' project, we immediately realized that simply sending drones to the frontline would not be effective," Fedorov said. "The military should be able to fly drones professionally."

"Only professional pilots can minimize drone shootdowns and losses due to electronic warfare. People at the frontline should be skillful to control drones for air reconnaissance, for artillery adjustment, for destruction of enemy's equipment and manpower."

Both sides are reportedly burning through their drone arsenals. The British Royal United Services Institute think tank estimated in May that Kyiv's forces are losing around 10,000 UAVs per month. Asked about the loss rate, Fedorov replied: "We are not able to disclose the number of drone losses on the battlefield."

"The important thing is that UAVs allow us to save the lives of our military," the vice prime minister added. "So, we need as many drones as possible to cover the whole frontline. We believe that in this war, it's the drones who should fight and die, not people."

Kyiv now intends to build on its drone success. "As of now, we have already trained 10,000 UAV operators in 10 months within the 'Army of Drones' project," he said. "We engaged 26 partner schools to train operators. Each of the students is a military man who, after graduation, returns to the front line to perform combat missions."

"In June, we launched the second stage of training. Our goal is to train another 10,000 UAV operators. But now we'll also train pilots for FPV drones, as well as for strike and reconnaissance aircraft. We need as many drone pilots as possible, as the need for drone usage is only increasing."