Ukrainian drone operators call for simple, mass-produced UAVs as Western designs prove costly

Ukrainian drone operators are urging Western suppliers to produce large quantities of simple, low-cost unmanned aerial vehicles that can be quickly adapted in the field, a former operator-turned-analyst said. Dmytro "Liber" Zhluktenko of the 413th Unmanned Systems Regiment "RAID" told Business Insider that Ukrainian forces need "something that works great but doesn't have superfluous features" and that they have yet to see Western firms capable of delivering hundreds of thousands of basic first-person-view attack drones without added autonomy or navigation systems.

Zhluktenko explained that frontline soldiers frequently modify weapons and equipment themselves, preferring generic platforms that can be reconfigured for different missions. He noted that Ukrainian companies such as SkyFall and General Cherry are already producing such drones at scale, while many Western manufacturers remain focused on small-batch, feature-rich products that are more expensive and harder to produce in the required volumes.

A spokesperson for Ukrainian technology firm TechEx said Western firms often have to comply with peacetime regulations that add extra software and hardware, making the systems more complex and slowing production. The spokesperson contrasted this with the "wartime operations" needed to supply Ukraine quickly and in large numbers.

Western officials have echoed similar concerns. Danish defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen described the need for greater quantities of inexpensive weapons as a key lesson from the conflict, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte emphasized that "speed is of the essence, not perfection." The emphasis on cheap, mass-produced drones aligns with reports that unmanned systems now account for up to 95% of Russian frontline losses, underscoring the strategic importance of affordable, readily deployable UAVs.