KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine has started mass production of its new domestically developed interceptor drones to strengthen air defences, the Ukrainian defence ministry said on Friday.
As the war with Russia approaches the four-year mark, Ukrainian cities and towns far from the frontline are under nearly daily assault from hundreds of Russian drones.
In the latest attack on Ukraine, 430 drones were used, Ukrainian officials said.
The ministry said that the first three manufacturers have already started production, and 11 more were preparing to set up production lines.
The drones would be based on a domestically developed technology called ‘Octopus”. The ministry said the technology to intercept Shahed drones was tested in combat and proved that it was working “at night, under jamming, and at low altitudes.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that the goal was to manufacture up to 1,000 of the interceptors a day.
Russia is investing heavily in long-range drones and has been steadily increasing the number of drones it uses in a single strike on Ukraine.
Interceptor drones, which cost a few thousand dollars each, are also important for Ukraine as it can save its more expensive missiles for faster, deadlier cruise and ballistic threats.
(Reporting by Olena Harmash, Editing by William Maclean)
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