The Ministry of Defense saved UAH 511 million on drones: how this will strengthen the army

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine saved nearly UAH 511 million on the procurement of FPV drones. This was made possible by framework agreements based on tactical and technical characteristics, i.e., requirements for the functionality and capabilities of the drones.

'The implemented procedure allowed saving over UAH 500 million of state funds while maintaining high quality of the equipment. This is a clear example of effective procurement that strengthens Ukraine's defense capability,' emphasized Alexander Osadchy, head of the Procurement Department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

Cost savings in the procurement of FPV drones

The total expected cost of procurement was UAH 2.058 billion, while contracts were signed for UAH 1.547 billion. On average, this represents about 25% savings. The largest savings in a specific lot exceeded UAH 70 million.

'Thanks to the new procedure, the defense agency saved nearly 25% of the expected procurement cost. This will allow purchasing more drones and equipping the military with a greater amount of equipment for the same funds,' noted the director of the agency, Arsen Jumadilov.

Significant savings are particularly noticeable in specific lots. For example, in one of them, the expected cost was UAH 202.3 million, while the winner proposed UAH 141.2 million, which means a savings of UAH 61.1 million.

Some manufacturers have already sent the first deliveries of drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Ministry of Defense explained that the procurement process for FPV drones took place in a closed module of Prozorro, ensuring protection of sensitive information about manufacturers: proposals are possible both directly and through official representatives.

As a result of adhering to the tactical and technical characteristics of FPV drones and rational organization of procurements, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine significantly saved funds on these technological products, which will allow strengthening the country's defense capability and providing the military with modern equipment at affordable costs.