Ukrainian Drone Maker Uses Manual Assembly to Enable Frequent Product Updates

Frontline Robotics manufactures drones and weaponry used by more than 60 Ukrainian units and makes small changes to its products up to 20 times a month along with major updates approximately every six months. Mykyta Rozhkov, chief business development officer of Frontline Robotics, said a big part of the assembly lines relies on manual assembly because it is the most flexible.

He stated that automation comes with the cost of freezing the product version.

Rozhkov said sustaining 20 changes per month is not an easy task because supply chain and quality control must remain at high standard. He added that the company found a balance between automation and flexible manual assembly to deliver upgraded products every month. Rozhkov also said big machinery cannot be relied upon if it can be lost anytime due to attacks.

Taras Berezovets, head of the military cooperation department of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces, stated that what seems to be cutting-edge technology will be completely outdated after one, maximum two, months. Frontline Robotics is working with German unmanned aerial systems company Quantum Systems to manufacture Frontline's Ukrainian-designed drones in Germany for Ukraine.

Rozhkov said the core idea of the partnership is to make a mix of two production cultures, with Ukraine bringing freedom to create manufacturing from scratch while Germany brings decades of expertise in automation.

Tarja Jaakkola, NATO's assistant secretary general for defense industry, innovation, and armaments, stated that NATO is moving to learn from the speed of Ukraine's weapons development by understanding Ukrainian industrial capacity, technology, and innovation.