Because the Ukrainian Antonov group will also manufacture drones
The battlefield in Ukraine is characterized by the most intensive use of drones in a military conflict. And now the Ukrainian cargo aircraft manufacturer, Antonov, expands its activities in the drone sector
Ukrainian cargo plane manufacturer Antonov will diversify its business by opening up to drones.
According to the Reuters news agency, Antonov has opened a new center dedicated to the production of drones “with the aim of improving the production capabilities of unmanned systems and providing support to private producers of unmanned systems in terms of of skills and services".
That's according to a presentation by Ukrainian state defense conglomerate UkrOboronProm seen by Reuters . The presentation, the news agency adds, was addressed to American officials last June. Antonov did not respond to requests for comment on the center and its plans to expand into the drone sector, while a spokesperson for Ukroboronprom declined to comment, citing security concerns.
As Repubblica explained last year , the Antonov group "is one of the few in the world in possession of software and hardware for the entire production cycle – conception, design, construction – of aircraft".
This new move by state manufacturer Antonov is in line with Ukraine's goal of becoming a world center for drone production, facilitated by investments in this sector, Reuters adds.
All the details.
THE EXPERIENCE OF THE ANTONOV GROUP
Under Ukroboronprom, Antonov has designed and built drones in the past, including the Horlytsia model, but cargo planes are its main business. In a symbolic attack, the An-225 'Mriya' (dream in Ukrainian), at the time the world's largest cargo plane and for which Antonov is best known, was destroyed by the Russians in the early days of the war .
THE IMPORTANCE OF DRONES IN THE UKRAINIAN WAR
Drones made and adapted in Ukraine play an important role in the war, and Antonov's move is consistent with Ukraine's goal of becoming a global drone hub, boosted by investment in a sector that has grown significantly since early 2022 , highlights Reuters . On August 31, Mykhailo Fedorov, the deputy prime minister in charge of Ukraine's drone program, said that more than 1,000 drones and 30 robotic systems had arrived at the front. In July 2022, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, together with the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, announced a fundraiser through the United24 platform for the Drone Army. Yesterday, Fedorov reported that the Ukrainian army, using UAVs supplied by the “Army of Drones” project, destroyed and damaged 201 pieces of Russian equipment during the week from 4 to 11 September.
NU NEW CENTER DEDICATED TO UNMANNED AIRCRAFT
The opening of the new Antonov drone center has “the aim of improving the production capabilities of unmanned systems and providing support to private producers of unmanned systems in terms of skills and services”, reads the presentation of Ukroboronprom, which oversees the Ukrainian defense sector.
While production of cargo planes will continue, the new drone center could better serve Kiev's warfighting needs and give Antonov's engineers more work, a person familiar with the project told Reuters . Antonov's experience in cargo planes could also be applied to long-distance drones, the source added, giving Ukraine's military the ability to strike deeper into Russian territory.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/perche-il-gruppo-ucraino-antonov-fabbrichera-anche-droni/ on Tue, 12 Sep 2023 13:48:15 +0000.