BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 25. A company from Latvia has been recognized as the only winner in the unmanned aircraft procurement competition announced within the framework of the international Drone Coalition, gaining the right to conclude a contract for the supply of high-performance autonomously guided unmanned systems to Ukraine worth approximately 24 million euros, Trend reports citing the Defense Ministry of Latvia.
“By supporting Ukraine in its fight against the aggressor, we have also significantly strengthened our defense industry. The fact that a Latvian company is the only one to have won the international Drone Coalition procurement confirms that our defense industry can provide military technology solutions that meet Ukraine's needs. We will continue to support Ukraine while strengthening and developing our local defense industry,” says Defense Minister Andris Sprūds.
The procurement competition attracted interest from 163 entrepreneurs from the 57 member states of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group. A total of 31 applicants successfully met with coalition experts for an in-person evaluation, during which their capacity to provide the stated production on time, in the specified quantity, and to the required quality was verified. Consequently, 14 companies were awarded contracts for test batches.
After the unmanned aerial vehicle tests in Latvia, six entrepreneurs were forwarded to the second round of testing in Ukraine, of which the Latvian company was the only one to successfully pass the tests and was selected for procurement.
It has already been reported that in January of this year, contracts were concluded within the framework of the international Drone Coalition for supplies worth almost 54 million euros from the international drone fund to provide Ukraine with 30,000 drones. Two Latvian companies out of five won the right to supply around 12,000 drones worth 17 million euros.
Latvia, in agreement with the United Kingdom on co-leading the drone coalition, agreed last year that the UK would take on the coordination of the coalition’s common fund and joint procurement. The establishment of the fund officially came into effect with its signing on 10 July 2024.
The coalition member states contribute funding to the common fund, which is allocated for joint procurement in support of Ukraine. The drone coalition has committed to regular joint procurement to ensure the continuity of supplies of unmanned aerial vehicles to Ukraine.
The goal of the drone coalition member states is to ensure the
supply of drones, technological support and assistance in personnel
training for Ukraine’s needs. The commitment envisages supplying
Ukraine with combat drones of various capacities, developed in
accordance with the requirements set by the Ukrainian armed
forces.
The coalition officially includes 20 member states that have signed
a letter of intent – Latvia, the United Kingdom, Australia,
Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Estonia, Italy, New
Zealand, Canada, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Turkey, Ukraine, Germany and Sweden.