Ukrainian forces receive over 1.5m drones via DOT-Chain Defence: most in-demand items revealed

Combat units of the Defence Forces of Ukraine have received over 1.5 million unmanned aerial vehicles and other equipment worth a total of more than UAH 100 billion via DOT-Chain Defence. Unmanned aerial vehicles account for the largest share of deliveries, the Defence Procurement Agency reported.

Among UAVs, the highest delivery volumes fall into three main categories:

• radio-controlled and fibre-optic-controlled FPV drones;
• interceptor drones;
• strike bombers and fixed-wing UAVs.

Units are also ordering unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), electronic warfare (EW) systems, and munitions for unmanned aerial platforms.

According to Artem Romaniukov, Acting Director of the DOT Defence Procurement Agency, the digital marketplace enables service members to independently select equipment best suited to their combat mission requirements.

The DOT-Chain Defence marketplace catalogue features over 1,800 product items from 300 Ukrainian manufacturers. Military units independently choose the required equipment based on operational needs, utilizing state funding.

Deputy Minister of Defence Mstyslav Banik noted that the decentralised procurement model reduced the lead time between placing an order and receiving equipment from several months to a few weeks. Specifically, the average delivery time for in-stock items is 8 days, while pre-ordered systems take around six weeks.