Ukraine states that it has developed advanced versions of the popular Chinese Mavic Chinese drone, and these drones are already actively used in the forefront. According to Business Insider, three domestic developers have created new models that meet NATO standards and are now being used in Ukrainian military units.
DJI Mavic drones have become one of the most common drones used at the front in Ukraine. However, in December 2024 it became known that China limits the export of key components, such as engines, batteries and flight controllers, which affected the production of Ukrainian drones.
Low reliability and high loss of drones - up to five Mavic a day in some units - forced Ukraine to look for alternatives. Thus, there was a need to develop their own drones, capable of performing intelligence missions and effectively resisting Russian electronic warfare.
According to the Brave1 Defense Innovation team, four models of new Ukrainian drones are equipped with communication systems that increase their resistance to enemy electronic attacks. One of these models is Shmavik, developed by Reactive Drone. This drone has the ability to fly up to 60 minutes, with a radius of up to 15 km and is able to carry the load up to 1 kg. Its main purpose is to perform intelligence operations on the front line.
Another model, Ukropter, developed by Bravery Invest, has significant advantages over Mavic. It is able to lift up to 1.8 kg of cargo, fly up to 60 minutes and reach speeds up to 74 km/h. For comparison, the newest Mavic has the same speed, but lower capacity and flight time.
Ukrainian drones are already actively purchased for the needs of the Ukrainian army. The codification of the Schmavik drone allowed its official purchase by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
