Ukraine to Mass-Produce Homegrown Mavic Drone Alternatives, Zelensky Says

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that Ukraine is exploring the mass production of a domestic analogue of the Chinese DJI Mavic drone.

Zelensky said Kyiv has found the right replacement and is now looking into mass-producing the drone.

“Next, the ‘Mavics’... We were looking for alternatives. Alternatives have been found, there will be mass production of this alternative. Now the corresponding contracts will be prepared in financing,” Zelensky told reporters at a Friday briefing, according to Interfax Ukraine.

Zelensky did not specify the model set to replace the Mavic drones on the front.

Both Ukrainian and Russian forces commonly use Chinese DJI Mavic quadcopters on the front line due to their low cost, portability, performance and commercial availability, the combination of which outclass all competitors.

However, as Beijing and Moscow trumpet their growing ties – and with China imposing a drone export ban in 2024 – observers have raised concerns about relying on Chinese suppliers for modern battlefield essentials like drones.

Ukrainian arms makers have been trying to produce an alternative to the Mavic, but so far most domestically made drones have been unable to compete with it on both performance and cost.

A recent Forbes report lists some available alternatives from Ukraine, such as the Ukropter, Yautja from Rise technologies, and the Shmavic made by Reactive Drone – all of them capable but also more expensive.

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But First Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said in September that Ukraine has begun supplying 1,000 units of a homegrown Mavic alternative to the front, according to defense outlet Militarnyi, though he did not name the model.

Fedorov also said the drone is not entirely Ukrainian, with the production chain only partially localized in Ukraine.

In June, French arms maker Parrot also unveiled a drone called the ANAFI UKR, which it said can compete with the Mavics in Ukraine.

But a Ukrainian military drone operator quickly shot down the idea in a comment to Kyiv Post at the time, calling the $17,000 price tag “insane.”

“I would love for European drones to replace Mavics, and I believe it’s good for Europe, good for Ukraine, buying our own… But now, with this technology, with this pricing, I do not believe we can re-arm the whole military with this drone,” he said.

The soldier also raised concerns over the logistics and training needed to transition to a new system other than the Mavics, considering its prevalence, though he said troops could “eventually… come around to it.”