Ukraine currently produces 10 million drones annually and plans to double that figure, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday.Speaking during celebrations marking Ukrainian Statehood Day in Kyiv, Zelensky said the country’s rapid expansion of drone production had exceeded expectations.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.“I remember when I first publicly announced the state’s plan to produce 1 million drones a year. There was a lot of skepticism, both in Ukraine and abroad,” Zelensky said.“Now we can state: we are producing 10 million drones a year. Ten million – and there will be 20 million,” he added.The president said Ukraine aims to achieve the target together with its allies.His remarks come after Deputy Defense Minister Mstyslav Banik told the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in June that Ukraine’s defense industry has the capacity to produce up to 20 million drones annually in the future if it receives sufficient funding and support from allies.Banik also said Ukraine’s defense industry is capable of manufacturing thousands of missiles for both long-range strikes and air defense systems, urging allies to invest more heavily in the country’s expanding defense production.A 2025 Bloomberg report estimated that the country was producing around 4 million unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) annually.The output ranged from long-range strike drones to low-cost first-person-view (FPV) drones operated via onboard cameras. By comparison, the report noted that the US manufactures roughly 100,000 military drones each year.
Zelensky Says Ukraine Produces 10 Million Drones a Year and Is Targeting 20 Million Annually
Zelensky rebuffed skepticism when he first pledged to produce 1 million drones a year, saying Ukraine now manufactures 10 million annually with a target of 20 million.
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