Latvia sends a batch of more than 500 drones to Ukraine as part of the Drone Coalition
23 July, 2024 Illustration photo of FPV drone. Photo from open sources Latvia sent a batch of over 500 drones to Ukraine as part of the international Drone Coalition.
Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds announced this. He also posted photos of the packed boxes with the drones inside, before they were shipped. "A parcel with more than 500 drones is on its way to Ukraine," the official wrote on social network X.
A batch of drones for Ukraine as part of the Drone Coalition.
July 2024. Photo credits: Andris Spruds
On July 5, the Latvian Defense Ministry announced that a batch of 300 drones would arrive in Ukraine in a few days.
A batch of drones for Ukraine as part of the Drone Coalition. July 2024.
Photo credits: Andris Spruds
In total, more than 2,500 drones of various types and specifications will be handed over to the Ukrainian Defense Forces this month, worth EUR4 million.
A batch of drones for Ukraine as part of the Drone Coalition. July 2024. Photo credits: Andris Spruds
The drones are supplied as part of the international Drone Coalition, led by Latvia.
The drones are manufactured by seven Latvian companies. The Drone Coalition currently includes 14 countries: Latvia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and Estonia. Other countries may join the initiative in the future.
As of June, the Drone Coalition raised EUR549 million for unmanned aerial vehicles for Ukraine.
Illustrative photo of FPV drone. Photo from open sources
In 2024, the Latvian Ministry of Defense alone allocated EUR20 million for the needs of the Drone Coalition, of which EUR10 million is intended to purchase drones from the Latvian defense industry. The initiative to establish a drone coalition was announced during a meeting of its Minister of Defense of Latvia with the Minister of Defense of Ukraine in December 2023.
On February 17, 2024, a coalition of 8 countries was formed.
At the beginning of June, the UK and Latvia opened the bidding for companies to supply FPV drones to Ukraine, on behalf of the Drone Capability Coalition.