The Russia-Ukraine War has highlighted how airborne drones increasingly are being used for attack purposes, which in turn put a focus on counter-drone defense technologies.
However, while flying drones are being used more often as tools of war, it should also be noted that they can be used in the same theaters or war for humanitarian purposes, such as search and rescue, delivery of medical supplies and mine detection.
That is what Canadian drone technology company Draganfly has been up to since early 2022. Through partnerships, Draganfly initially shipped three drones to Ukraine and soon after fulfilled an order for another 10. Most recently, the company said late last month that it was fulfilling an order to ship an additional 30 reconnaissance drones to Ukraine, putting the total Draganfly drone force there at more than 40 unmanned aerial vehicles.
The latest shipment was made possible through Draganfly channel partner DEF-C, a Ukrainian defense services company, along with support from DroneAid, an open source project created in 2018 by a survivor of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.
Cameron Chell, President and CEO of Draganfly, told Fierce Electronics that the company’s drones initially were being used to deliver temperature-sensitive medical supplies, replacing ambulances for that purpose. Typically, in responding to the site of an emergency in non-war zones, drones can be faster by several minutes and less expensive than grounded vehicles, and involve less risk to humans. The use cases have continued to expand as Draganfly has worked more closely with its Ukrainian partners and users.
Chell has visited Ukraine twice this year, and said he is heading back over next year. Draaganfly also has had teams based in Ukraine, and has hosted drone users from Ukraine in the U.S.
“We have teams in Texas that lead parallel tests, we've had folks from Ukraine come over to participate in training at the test facilities here, and we'll continue to expand our presence over there,” Chell said. “Ukraine is now the smartest UAV operation in the world. There's more experience and insight happening there in a week, than typically there probably is in most other places in a year.”
The need for drones in Ukraine is likely to continue to exist as the country rebuilds buildings and infrastructure, and extend well beyond the eventual end of the conflict.
“Even if it ended tomorrow, there are needs and use cases for drones in terms of defense surveillance, communications, reconnaissance, reconstruction, mapping surveys,” Chell said. “I think as an example there are over 900 bridges there that have to be rebuilt. Public Safety, public awareness, counter drone technology. This technology provides an inexpensive alternative to other methods and that’s why it is on the roadmap for the future of civil response and defense.”