With employees dressed in suits sipping coffee, Skyeton’s offices in the Kyiv region of Ukraine look like a typical tech startup.
But the company — whose exact location remains secret — is actually a drone manufacturing hub for the Ukrainian armed forces, producing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to support the country’s defense against Russian invasion.
“This is a drone war,” Skyeton CEO Andriy Fialkovsky told AFP.
Both Ukraine and Russia used UAVs extensively during the two-year conflict.
Above the battlefield to the east and south, drones equipped with high-definition cameras ascertain enemy positions. At night, boats packed with explosives try to hit targets deep behind the front lines.
Skyeton makes the Raybird, a long-range surveillance drone that can fly up to 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) in offline mode and up to 120 kilometers while tethered to an operator.
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For Technical Director Maksym Levkivsky, drones will be crucial to Ukraine’s chances of victory.
“The Russians have a huge advantage in terms of numbers of people, tanks, planes and money,” he said.
“So the only way to win is to have a technological advantage.”
“The Biggest Playground”
Ukraine is trying to increase its defense production, an effort it sees as important as Western allies waver on providing additional vital military aid.
But developing an entire modern arms industry is an expensive, long-term project.
For now, Kiev uses drones that are relatively cheap and easy to manufacture, with President Volodymyr Zelensky aiming to produce one million units this year.
Fialkovsky said more domestic production also allowed Ukraine to respond quickly to developments on the front line.
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“Ukraine is unfortunately the biggest playground in the world” when it comes to weapons, he said, but “nobody but us knows what equipment, what technologies we need.”
Levkivsky served in the Ukrainian military, and the company wants to recruit more veterans.
Prospective employees must pass a background check, with Ukraine’s arms industry a prime target for Russian espionage and sabotage.
“We are constantly in danger of being hit,” Levkivsky added.
Skyeton’s production is distributed across multiple locations to make it less vulnerable, a common approach in the sector.
“Explosion” of production
Working under bright white neon lights, about 10 employees were assembling drones at the Skyeton factory. Videotaping or photography of their faces was prohibited, another precautionary measure.
Nearby, other employees were testing them and preparing them for use. Every minute spent setting up in the field exposes soldiers to enemy fire, making quick and successful launches essential, Levkivsky said.
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The number of Ukrainian drone manufacturers has more than doubled to around 200 since Russia invaded in February 2022, according to Ukrainian authorities.
“There was a huge boom last year when they just mushroomed,” said Vadym Yunyk, president of a national association of drone manufacturers and co-founder of drone maker ISR Defence.
Despite the increase in production, Kiev is still not self-sufficient, especially in terms of microcircuits and chips that must be imported.
“Right now it’s impossible to assemble a 100 percent Ukrainian drone,” Yunyk said.
Drone types also vary greatly, from cheap self-exploding kamikazes to more sophisticated multi-purpose craft.
ISR Defence’s R18 can drop explosives over enemy targets or be used to transport ammunition or supplies to front-line soldiers when land delivery is too risky.
And Vampire fighter drones, produced by a company of the same name, have been used to deliver medicine and food to blockaded villages that were flooded after the Kakhovka dam exploded in southern Ukraine last year.
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Arms race
As the war enters its third year, Ukrainian producers say they are locked in an innovation battle against their Russian rivals.
“They are learning to camouflage their UAVs better and we are learning to identify and neutralize them better,” said a Vampire spokesman, whose name was withheld for security reasons.
Fearful of providing Russia with valuable intelligence, drone manufacturers are keeping their cards close to their chests about upcoming inventions and upgrades.
Skyeton said it relied on artificial intelligence to help improve navigation and better pinpoint enemy positions.
Drone makers hope the more advanced technology can tip the balance of the conflict in Ukraine’s favor and make up for manpower shortages in Kiev.
“Europe, with all its desire to help, can only help with weapons — but no one will give us people,” Younick said.
“You can have a cache of weapons, but if there’s no one to shoot them, then they’re useless.”
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But Yunyk also noted that a “flock of drones” can be controlled by a single person.
“That’s why we have to invest in it with all our strength.”
Source: AFP