Ukraine has, according to British television Sky News, built a network of secret underground factories producing unmanned aerial vehicles intended also for long-range operations. Reporter Stuart Ramsay visited one of these facilities, but the station did not publish its exact location for security reasons.
Footage from the report showed the production facilities and the newly completed FP1 drone. According to the television's information, more than two hundred unmanned vehicles are being produced across the entire network per day. The underground location is intended to protect production from attacks and allow it to continue even when industrial and logistics facilities are exposed to increased risk of being struck.
The expansion of domestic drone production is significant for Ukraine, as unmanned systems play an increasingly important role in the war. They are used for reconnaissance, guidance, cargo transport, and strikes against distant targets. The decentralized network also reduces dependence on a single production site, whose elimination could significantly slow the entire program.
The FP1 model itself was described by the station as a long-range vehicle, but no further technical specifications were published. It is also not clear from the report how many individual factories the network includes, who operates them, or whether the stated daily capacity represents normal output or only the maximum production capability under extraordinary operating conditions and under the pressure of continuing attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure.
The report comes at a time when the country is dealing with extensive damage to storage and transportation infrastructure. The Ukrainian edition of Forbes magazine reported that the total area of warehouses and logistics centers destroyed in explosions and fires since the beginning of July exceeded 400,000 square metres. The figure, however, comes from a media estimate and was not independently verified in the presented text.
According to the report, Ukrainian Prime Minister, identified in the document as Sergey Koretsky, announced emergency government meetings with business representatives on August 5. Their aim is to rapidly restore disrupted supply routes and stabilize logistics in the country.
Information about the secret factories cannot be independently verified due to secrecy. The report nevertheless suggests that Ukraine is combining mass production with an emphasis on dispersal, protection, and rapid replacement of potential losses.
gnews.cz - GH