President Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is creating underground weapon production plants that will be able to provide the Armed Forces in the event of a delay in military aid from Western partners.
At the same time, Ukraine is developing several new means of countering Russian drones in order not to expend expensive anti-aircraft missiles to destroy them. The country already uses small drones that have been modified for air combat. Every week, these drones intercept approximately 50 Russian UAVs.
Another potential tool to combat Russian drones are winged UAVs, which can follow enemy drones at a distance of up to 60 km and an altitude of up to 4 km. Drones of this type are already being tested and should be supplied to the army this year.
Also, work is being done on long-range killer drones, which are UAVs that can destroy the Shahed-type drones employed by Russia. For such interceptors to be effective, they must have a speed of at least 200 km per hour, a long operational range of at least 200 km, and be inexpensive. Ukraine plans to build them by the end of 2025.