Defense Procurement Agency saved over UAH 500 million thanks to the new procedure for purchasing FPV drones

Evgenia Gubina - 8 September, 12:31 PM

Defense Procurement Agency saved almost UAH 511 million during the procurement of FPV drones thanks to framework agreements based on tactical and technical characteristics (TTX) – that is, requirements for the functionality and capabilities of drones. This is stated in a statement by the Ministry of Defence.

"We emphasize that the implemented procedure made it possible to purchase drones even more efficiently. This new approach allowed for competitive bidding among a wide range of manufacturers. As a result, eight manufacturers competed for the right to supply drones," the defense ministry noted.

The Ministry of Defence emphasized that the total expected cost of the purchase was UAH 2.058 billion. According to the results of the bidding, contracts were concluded for the amount of UAH 1.547 billion. The largest savings in a separate lot reached more than UAH 70 million, on average – approximately 25%.

"Thanks to the new procedure, DPA saved almost 25% of the expected cost of the purchase. This means that we can purchase more drones and provide the army with a much larger amount of equipment for this money," said DPA Director Arsen Zhumadilov.

The Ministry of Defence cited several lots as examples where savings were particularly noticeable:

- expected cost of UAH 202.3 million → winner – UAH 141.2 million (savings of UAH 61.1 million);

- expected cost 177.8 million UAH → winner – 106 million UAH (savings 71.8 million UAH);

- expected cost of UAH 177.8 million → winner – UAH 120.1 million (savings of UAH 57.7 million).

According to the department, some manufacturers have already made the first shipments of drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

"The procurement of FPV drones took place in the closed Prozorro module, which guarantees the protection of sensitive information about manufacturers: submission of offers is possible both directly and through an official representative," the Ministry of Defence explained.

It was also recalled that a framework agreement is a public procurement procedure that involves the preliminary selection of suppliers. First, companies are qualified according to basic criteria. After that, the Defence Procurement Agency holds specific tenders among them with clearly defined product requirements.

Recall that the Defense Procurement Agency announced the first tenders for the purchase of FPV drones according to tactical and technical characteristics in July 2025.