Ukraine’s drone industry made 300,000 drones in 2023 and 4 million in 2024. That jump comes from the Ministry of Digital Transformation, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda in October 2024, and the ministry said capacity grew “more than 10 times” in a year. Money moved with it: funding rose from roughly $5 million to roughly $50 million, and single investments went from $500,000 to between $1 million and $3 million per project.
Numbers like these explain how a country without a large conventional air force ended up with a strike arm that reaches deep into Russia.
From small drones to heavy ones
The long-range end of the fleet is a different class of machine from the small aircraft flown near the front. H I Sutton of Covert Shores catalogs Ukraine’s one-way attack drones by reach: the Morok at “300 km” at the short end, the newly revealed Zozulia at “2,100km” at the long end. Most carry warheads of 10 to 50 kg.
Two types stand out. The UJ-22 Airborne is a single-engine airframe about 3.7 meters long with a 4.2-meter wingspan, among the largest in service. Sutton reports a payload of up to 20 kg and a range of 800 km, and notes it was used in attacks on Moscow, including in February 2023.
The Liutyi is bigger still. Army Recognition described it in March 2024 as a medium-altitude, long-endurance aircraft resembling the Turkish Bayraktar TB2, with a V-tail meant to cut its radar signature, fixed landing gear for runway takeoffs, a 6.7-meter wingspan and a 4.4-meter length. Ground stations control it by line of sight or by satellite. Ukroboronprom announced the project in October 2022, with design goals that included a weight above 200 kg and a 75-kg warhead flown more than 1,000 kilometers.
Refineries in range
By early 2024 the Liutyi was in mass deployment. Army Recognition said it was striking refineries, fuel depots and factories inside an 800-kilometer radius.
The catch is that such reach depends on a domestic production base, not imports alone. Sutton’s catalog shows the Antonov and Ukroboronprom design effort behind the Lyutyy, which he says offers a longer range and greater payload than some other designs. Ukrainska Pravda added that Ukraine still cannot cover all of its military’s drone needs from its own resources, and the government has considered lifting restrictions on drone exports to raise more manufacturing funds.
Sources
- Guide To Ukraine's Long Range Attack Drones (Covert Shores, H I Sutton)
- Ukraine increases drone production tenfold (Ukrainska Pravda, Artur Kryzhnyi)
- Ukraine Launches Strikes on Russian Oil Refineries with Indigenous Drone Liutyi (Army Recognition)
