---
title: "NAUDI Warns of Risk of Supplying Unfit Fiber-Optic FPV Drones Worth Tens of Billions of Hryvnias"
description: "The National Association of Ukraine's Defense Industry warned that, during the mass procurement of fiber-optic FPV drones, systems unfit for combat may reach the front due to the lack of quality control."
date: 2026-09-04T12:34:01.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/naudi-warns-of-risk-of-supplying-unfit-fiber-optic-fpv-drones
tags: [fpv-drones, fiber-optic-drones, ukraine-defense, naudi, military-procurement, drone-quality]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# NAUDI Warns of Risk of Supplying Unfit Fiber-Optic FPV Drones Worth Tens of Billions of Hryvnias

![Fiber-optic FPV drone carrying an under-slung warhead in flight — quality testing before military supply](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/04/naudi-predupredila-o-riskah-zakupki-fpv-dronov-na-optovolokne/naudi-predupredila-o-riskah-zakupki-fpv-dronov-na-optovolokne-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- NAUDI warned that, in the procurement of hundreds of thousands of fiber-optic FPV drones worth tens of billions of hryvnias, systems unfit for combat may reach the front.
- The association points to the absence of key fiber-optic parameters and flight characteristics in the technical requirements, as well as the lack of a regulated quality check upon acceptance.
- NAUDI calls on the Ministry of Defense and the Defense Procurement Agency to revise the requirements and introduce mandatory quality control, making the criterion not price but the ability to hit the target.

The National Association of Ukraine's Defense Industry (NAUDI) has issued a public warning that, amid the large-scale procurement of fiber-optic FPV suicide drones, low-quality systems unfit for combat use may end up at the front. This is reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing a statement published by the association on its Facebook page. NAUDI called on the Ministry of Defense and the Defense Procurement Agency to revise the technical requirements and introduce mandatory quality control, emphasizing that under current conditions the army risks receiving "the cheapest systems, but ones unfit for combat use."

### Scale of Procurement and the Essence of the Warning

According to the association, the procurement involves hundreds of thousands of fiber-optic FPV suicide drones, with the total value of the contracts potentially reaching several tens of billions of hryvnias. NAUDI insists that the main criteria in weapons procurement should be quality, reliability, and safety for service members, not the lowest price. The association claims that military personnel are already encountering drones that fail to perform their stated functions, require modification directly at the front line, or may pose a threat to personnel.

### Critical Parameters Missing from the Technical Requirements

One of the key problems, according to NAUDI, is the quality of the fiber-optic cable spools: under conditions of enemy electronic warfare, it is precisely the integrity of the optical cable that ensures stable communication between the operator and the drone. In some models already in use by the military, the share of cases involving breakage of low-quality fiber optics exceeds 50%, according to the association. Meanwhile, the procurement technical requirements, NAUDI claims, do not define a number of critically important fiber-optic parameters — cable thickness, breaking load, and signal attenuation coefficient — nor do they specify basic flight characteristics: the drone's operating altitude, speed, and takeoff weight.

### Product Acceptance Procedure: The Answer Was "Not at All"

Particular attention in the statement is given to the product acceptance procedure. According to NAUDI, at an online meeting of market participants on issues of the Defense Procurement Agency, when a question was raised about how exactly the drones' characteristics would be checked upon acceptance, the agency's representatives answered: "Not at all." The association believes that an exclusive focus on the lowest price, in the absence of a regulated quality check, creates a risk of supplying cheap products that cannot perform combat tasks, and that formal savings lose their meaning if a significant portion of the cheaper drones fails due to technical malfunctions before even reaching the target.

### Contradictory Data

Market participants' positions on further steps diverge. NAUDI characterizes the situation as "the first experience of conducting procurement on such a scale" and expresses hope that the shortcomings in the technical requirements can be eliminated as a result of consultations with manufacturers and other market participants, proposing to refine the requirements rather than cancel the process. At the same time, manufacturers had previously stated there were violations during drone tenders and demanded the cancellation of the procurements, indicating a more stringent assessment of the situation by part of the market. Thus, one side advocates for correcting the requirements and introducing quality control, while the other previously demanded the termination of the procurement procedures themselves.

### The Association's Position and Conclusions

NAUDI summed up that "the main measure of effectiveness should not be the lowest price of the product, but the ability to hit the target." The association's statement highlights a systemic risk in one of the largest weapons procurement programs and shifts the focus from price to combat effectiveness and personnel safety. According to NAUDI, the outcome of consultations between the association, manufacturers, and defense procurement bodies may be a revision of the technical requirements and the introduction of mandatory quality control in the supply of fiber-optic FPV drones.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [NAUDI Warns of Risk of Procuring Defective FPV Drones Worth Tens of Billions](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/naudi-poperedila-rizik-zakupivli-brakovanih-1788524421.html) - Прямое отражение заявления NAUDI: масштаб закупки, отсутствие параметров в ТТ, ответ «Никак» при приемке, цитата о поражении цели.
- [NAUDI Declared Critical Risks in the Procurement of Fiber-Optic FPV Drones Worth Tens of Billions ...](https://news.telegraf.com.ua/ukraina/5949237-naudi-zayavila-pro-kritichni-riziki-pid-chas-zakupivli-optovolokonnikh-fpv-droniv-na-desyatki-milyardiv-griven) - Совпадает по сути с заявлением ассоциации о рисках и критических параметрах оптоволокна.
- [Ukraine's Strike Drones: WSJ on How Ukrainians Fight Amid a Shortage of Western Aid](https://www.rfi.fr/ru/%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0/20240109-%D1%83%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B5-%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%8B-%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%8B-wsj-%D0%BE-%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BC-%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BA-%D1%81%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B6%D0%B0%D1%8E%D1%82%D1%81%D1%8F-%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%86%D1%8B-%D0%B2-%D0%BE%D1%82%D1%81%D1%83%D1%82%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B8-%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B9-%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BE%D1%89%D0%B8) - Контекстный материал о ударных дронах и западной помощи; не относится напрямую к заявлению NAUDI о закупке оптоволоконных FPV.
- [Four Ranges Against FPV: How a Portable Drone Detector Enhances Safety](https://fraza.com/news/377719-chetyre-diapazona-protiv-fpv-kak-portativnyj-detektor-dronov-povyshaet-bezopasnost) - Тематически смежный материал о детекторах дронов; не подтверждает конкретные факты заявления NAUDI.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: What exactly did NAUDI warn about?
**A:** The association warned that, during the large-scale procurement of fiber-optic FPV drones, cheap systems unfit for combat use may reach the front due to the absence of mandatory quality control.

### Q: What is the scale of the procurement under discussion?
**A:** According to NAUDI, it involves hundreds of thousands of fiber-optic FPV suicide drones with a total value of several tens of billions of hryvnias.

### Q: Which parameters, in the association's view, are missing from the technical requirements?
**A:** NAUDI points to the absence of fiber-optic parameters (cable thickness, breaking load, signal attenuation coefficient) and basic flight characteristics (operating altitude, speed, takeoff weight).

### Q: What did the agency's representatives answer about the quality check upon acceptance?
**A:** According to NAUDI, at an online meeting, when asked about checking the drones' characteristics upon acceptance, the agency's representatives answered: "Not at all."

### Q: What is the association's main argument?
**A:** NAUDI believes that the main criterion of effectiveness should not be the lowest price but the ability to hit the target, and that formal savings are meaningless if the drones fail before reaching the target.