Thread by @ukraine_world

On the importance of drones on the battlefield and on the prospects of Ukraine in military drone production, UkraineWorld spoke with Valeriy Iakovenko, the founder of DroneUA and Drone Expert at the UN FAO.
Key points — in our brief. #UkraineWorldAnalysis 1/12

Drones are a key tool for getting information from the battlefield to decision makers. For a short period of time, they can collect a large amount of data in the safest way for the operator. Reconnaissance constitutes 95% of drone operations in Ukraine. 2/12

In 🇺🇦, drones are included in the military’s operational ecosystem. These are various software products that enable 🇺🇦 military to provide real-time information about the situation on the battlefield online. Action can be seen in seconds. 3/12

This is how modern 🇺🇦 artillery works. Soldiers see where to fire and where enemy fire is coming from. They control not only the firing of their artillery, but also its ammunition, allowing troops to switch away from rounds which are insufficiently effective. 4/12

The largest amount of equipment used by 🇺🇦 in the air is reconnaissance drones. Ukraine uses the 10-km range drones the most. It makes no sense for 🇺🇦 to produce drones of this type, because they are widely manufactured all around the world. They are mostly imported. 5/12

However, Ukraine is producing other types of drones, such as aircraft-type drones with a range of more than 10 km, or drones that carry certain projectiles. 6/12

With these drones, 🇺🇦 battlefield experience enabled a breakthrough in production. Lots of different types are being produced, including carbon-plastic, composite, metal, drones for reconnaissance, internal combustion engine-powered drones, electric drones, and much more. 7/12

🇺🇦 has already taken a leading position in the production of drone technologies, even though little has been said publicly about it. After the end of war, Ukraine will immediately become a powerful player in the world defense technology industry. 8/12

There are currently several dozens of such companies in Ukraine, and there are set to be even more. Some of them are big companies, but some aren’t public. 9/12

Drones were used for strike purposes at the beginning of the full-scale war in less than 1% of missions. Now, that level is up to 3-4%. The wide media coverage of how this technology is being used makes it seem that the use of strike drones is extremely common. 10/12

Ukraine’s use of drones to carry out strikes has evolved since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. There are drones that are already being used against armor or for long-range missions. They are operated by soldiers who already have highly specialized training. 11/12

As this technology develops in the future, we will see it move beyond manual flying and operation of drones. It will also involve the combination of technologies, the development of new types of autopilots, and the development of airborne target recognition technologies. 12/12