In February, the UK and Latvia announced that they would lead the
new Drone Capability Coalition, designed to rapidly supply
Ukraine with tens of thousands of first person view drones.
Today, the UK and Latvia have opened the bidding for companies to
supply FPV drones to Ukraine, on behalf of the Drone Capability
Coalition. This competition aims to produce these drones at scale
and at an affordable price point, leveraging the strength of
Western industry.
Industry can find the details of how to apply via the Defence Sourcing Portal.
This competition is open to industry from any nation in the
Ukraine Defence Contact Group.
Companies have until 28 June 2024 to submit their proposals,
which will then be considered by the Drone Capability Coalition
members and evaluated. Successful companies will receive orders
to supply drones to Ukraine and, upon receipt of positive
operational feedback, the intent is to place larger, follow up
orders for FPV drones. Additional FPV competitions are expected
to take place through 2024, building on the lessons learned from
this first competition.
First person view drones have proven highly effective on the
battlefield since Russia's full-scale invasion, providing
Ukrainian operators with situational awareness to target enemy
positions, armoured vehicles, and ships with explosive ordnance.
Members of the coalition include: UK, Latvia, Australia, Canada,
Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland,
Sweden, and Ukraine. Further countries are considering joining
the coalition.
