More Drones Every Year: How Drones Were Procured Using Budget Funds in 2024

In October, the Ministry of Defense reported that, in collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Transformation, contracts were made for 1.6 million UAVs of various types, totaling over UAH 114 billion for the first 10 months of 2024. It is likely that these were primarily tenders conducted under closed defense procedures.

The DOZORRO TI Ukraine team monitors drone procurement through Prozorro, with a particular focus on how trends in local community procurement for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are evolving.

For the third consecutive year, the project has been analyzing procurement transactions based on the classification code 34000000-7 “Transport equipment and auxiliary accessories,” along with relevant keywords (drone, quadcopter, FPV, UAV). The sample excludes irrelevant lots, such as drone simulators for the Defense of Ukraine school subject, as well as lots lacking details on contract amounts and procurement subjects (often containing sensitive information). These exclusions primarily involve closed defense procurement transactions, which account for the majority of government UAV spending. 

Dynamics

In 2022, drones were procured through Prozorro for a total of UAH 219 million. In 2023, the value of these contracts increased to UAH 2.6 billion. In 2024, spending on drone procurement surged nearly sixfold, reaching UAH 15.4 billion.

In 2024, the highest value of contracts was recorded in May and December, with drones contracted for UAH 2.8 billion each month. Lower values were observed in April (UAH 1.8 billion), October (UAH 1.5 billion), and September (UAH 1.2 billion). 

42.5% (UAH 6.5 billion) of the total contract value comes from procurement transactions under dynamic framework agreements, 23.5% (UAH 3.6 billion) from special open bidding, 16% (UAH 2.5 billion) from Prozorro Market, 13% (UAH 1.9 billion) from direct procurement transactions, and another 5% (UAH 0.8 billion) from simplified procurement transactions.

The most popular drone 

The DJI Mavic, in various modifications, is the most popular drone procured through Prozorro. Last year, at least UAH 10.7 billion was spent on the procurement of these quadcopters, accounting for 64% of the total contract value. Among other civilian drones, the Autel is the second most popular after the DJI Mavic. In 2024, Autel drones were procured through Prozorro for nearly UAH 600 million. 

An additional UAH 1.9 billion was spent on the procurement of FPV drones in various modifications. The remaining amount, over UAH 3.5 billion, is accounted for by other UAVs and RPAs, including Mriia, General Chereshnia, Domakha, Darts, Grey Widow 1, Osa, Chaklun, Leleka, Furia, Interceptor, MARA-2P, RAS 10-ME, Magura, and Sirko.

The biggest procuring entities 

State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection — UAH 3.5 billion

Last year, the largest contract amount — UAH 3.5 billion — was allocated to the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection. Most of the funds (UAH 2.9 billion) were spent by the Service for the procurement of DJI Mavic of various modifications: DJI Mavic 3T, DJI Mavic 3E, and DJI Mavic 3 Pro. Another UAH 357 million was spent on the procurement of Autel quadrocopters (Autel EVO Max 4N, Autel EVO Max 4T, and Autel Alpha). The remaining amount of UAH 234 million was allocated for FPV drones. All drone procurement transactions, except for one, by the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection, were conducted under a framework agreement (dynamic procurement system). 

The framework agreement, also known as a dynamic procurement system in the defense sector, is a specific two-stage procedure that can only be conducted by the Defense Procurement Agency, the State Rear Operator, and the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection. Under this system, procurement entities hold auctions among pre-verified and qualified participants. Vendors can apply for qualification selection at any time during the framework’s duration. Some information in these procurement transactions is accessible only to the procuring entity and its participants. 

Defense Procurement Agency — UAH 3 billion

The Defense Procurement Agency ranked second, contracting drones for nearly UAH 3 billion. It procured two modifications of the DJI Mavic—DJI Mavic 3T and DJI Mavic 3E. All drone procurement transactions were conducted under a dynamic framework agreement. 

Defense Department of Zaporizhzhia RSA — UAH 1.3 billion

The Defense Department of the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration ranks third, with a total of UAH 1.3 billion in contracts. Last year, the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration spent UAH 647 million on four versions of the DJI Mavic: Mavic 3T, Mavic 3E, Mavic 3 Pro, and Mavic 3. An additional UAH 500 million+ was allocated for the procurement of various UAVs, including Mriia, General Chereshnia, Domakha, Darts, Grey Widow 1, Osa, and Chaklun. Another UAH 120 million was spent on FPV drones. 

MIA and its structural divisions — UAH 431 million 

Drones were procured by structural divisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, including the State Border Guard Service, the National Guard, and the National Police. Notably, the Main Center for Capital Construction, Reconstruction, and Procurement of the State Border Guard Service procured 165 RPA Kolibri units for UAH 122 million. Military unit 3028 of the National Guard spent UAH 87 million for DJI Mavic 3 Pro and DJI Mavic 3T Enterprise quadrocopters. The Main Directorate of the National Police in the Odesa region spent UAH 24.7 million on drones, in particular, they procured SeeGull 8, Kolibri FPV drones, and DJI Mavic 3T Enterprise quadrocopters.

Cities that procured the largest number of drones

The top 10 city councils that spent the most on drone procurement included 9 regional centers: Kyiv, Lviv, Vinnytsia, Lutsk, Zhytomyr, Dnipro, Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytskyi, and Kryvyi Rih. In total, these city councils spent UAH 2.5 billion on drones. Most often, city communities procured DJI Mavic of various modifications: DJI Mavic 3T, DJI Mavic 3E, and DJI Mavic 3 Pro. The procurement of DJI Mavic accounts for approximately UAH 1 billion. More than UAH 870 million will be spent on other drones and their complexes (Leleka, Furia, Interceptor, Osa, and Chaklun). The remaining amount of UAH 538 million was allocated for FPV drones. 

Local communities may not have procured UAVs themselves, but instead transferred funds for their procurement (in the form of a subvention) to military units. This practice exists. 

Kyiv City Council — UAH 399 million 

In the capital, almost the entire amount is attributed to a single procurement by the Department of Municipal Security of the KCSA, which in July signed a contract for the supply of 2,500 DJI Mavics worth UAH 391.5 million. The Department then contracted 1,550 DJI Mavic 3T and 950 DJI Mavic 3E units.

Lviv City Council — UAH 340 million

Almost the entire amount falls on the procurement transactions by four utilities:

• Lvivsvitlo — UAH 198.6 million;
• Administrative and Technical Maintenance — UAH 59.3 million;
• City Information Technology Center — UAH 51.7 million;
• Ratusha-Service — UAH 29.3 million.

More than UAH 165 million was allocated for the procurement of FPV drones, UAH 110 million for DJI Mavic and Autel, with the remaining amount spent on UAVs and RPAs (MARA-2P, RAS 10-ME, Magura, and Sirko 2).

Vinnytsia City Council — UAH 311 million

All procurements in Vinnytsia were made by the executive committee, which concluded 12 contracts for the supply of drones. UAH 173 million was spent on DJI Mavic, and UAH 137 million on FPV drones.

Lutsk City Council — UAH 283 million

In Lutsk, drones were procured by the executive committee, which concluded 67 contracts worth UAH 283 million. Seventy-seven percent of the contract amount was allocated to DJI Mavic (Mavic 3 Fly More Combo, Mavic 3T, Mavic 3 Pro, Mavic 3). In addition to DJI Mavic, the city council procured other DJI drones — DJI Matrice 30T and DJI Matrice 350 RTK. More than UAH 36 million was allocated for UAVs and RPAs (Shark-D, Mini Shark-D and BRAVERY-R). The city spent UAH 30 million on FPV drones. 

Zhytomyr City Council — UAH 252 million 

Almost the entire amount of contracts, UAH 251.4 million, falls on procurement transactions by the executive committee of the city council. The city spent the most on various RPAs. The city also procured DJI Matrice 30 Enterprise, DJI Mavic 3, Autel EVO Max 4T, and FPV drones. 

Conclusion

In 2023, there was significantly more discussion about drones than in the first year of the full-scale invasion, with activists calling for more funds for the military from local budgets. Thanks to data from Prozorro, we can see that, compared to the previous year, the amount of contracts concluded for drone procurement increased sixfold — from UAH 2.6 billion to UAH 15.4 billion. This is a positive trend. This also indicates that local authorities are responding to the public’s request and are actively involved in supporting the defense effort. However, of course, no amount of funding is ever enough when it comes to supporting the army during wartime. Therefore, we hope that cities will increase their spending on drones and other essential items for the front in 2025, reassessing their daily needs.

This material is funded by the European Union. Its content is the sole responsibility of Transparency International Ukraine and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.