Ukraine has launched serial production of a long-range kamikaze drone, similar to the Iranian Shahed drone used by Russia, reports Ukrainian Pravda.

“Now we have started serial production. We produce dozens of such drones. Next year, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be able to receive more than a thousand such drones that fly at a distance of more than 1,000 km,” Oleksandr Kamyshyn, Minister of Strategic Industrial Production of Ukraine, said at a press conference.

Kamyshin emphasized that at the moment the Defense Ministry of Ukraine is capable of producing dozens of such unmanned kamikaze drones, but will increase production.

He also confirmed President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s statement that Ukraine’s Defense Ministry can produce a million FPV drones.

In 2023, Ukraine will triple its domestic production of equipment and weapons compared to the previous year, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said on December 27.

The production of ammunition for drones is “expanding as planned”, Zelenskyi said. In 2024, “special attention will be paid to the production of explosives and gunpowder, which are in short supply in the world.”

Ukroboronprom, one of the largest conglomerates in the Ukrainian arms industry, announced last December that it had completed several successful tests of an attack drone with a range of 1,000 kilometers.

In November, the Come Back Alive Foundation said that among the components of the secret operation called “Black Box” is a drone called “Biver” (“Beaver”), which can fly up to 800 kilometers away.

The drone was used for attacks in Crimea, as well as in other parts of occupied Ukraine, as well as in Russia.

Thus, the Castor drone hit various critical targets, including Russian missile production and storage facilities.

What are Shahed drones compared to Ukrainian ones

Shahed 136 drones weigh about 200 kilograms, and their explosive charge is estimated at 50-60 kilograms, which is less than that of the lightest bombers.

They are usually launched from a support that contains 5 devices and use a small engine in flight. Shahed 136 drones do not have a camera, but navigation is done using a GPS system.

“They are cheap and the components are easy to get. It costs about 20,000 dollars. They are mobile (can be placed on a truck, ships, etc.). They have almost invisible radar signatures, so they are very difficult to detect,” US General Mark Gertling, former commander of US forces in Europe, said last year.

The Shahed-136 model has a flight range of 2,000 km and a cruising speed of 180 km/h.