---
title: "From FPV drones to 'Neptune': how Ukraine's defense industry created weapons that outpaced the enemy over 35 years of Independence"
description: "RBC-Ukraine has compiled a top five of key domestic defense-industrial complex developments: FPV drones, the 'Neptune' missile and other systems that have changed the balance of power and reached industrial scale."
date: 2026-08-24T07:02:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/ukraine-defense-industry-top-5-weapons-of-independence
tags: [ukraine-defense-industry, fpv-drones, neptune-missile, drone-deal, military-technology]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# From FPV drones to 'Neptune': how Ukraine's defense industry created weapons that outpaced the enemy over 35 years of Independence

![Military hardware collage: FPV drone, Neptune cruise missile, tank and artillery — achievements of Ukraine's defense industry over 35 years of independence](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/24/ukraina-vpk-top-5-oruzhiya-nezavisimosti/ukraina-vpk-top-5-oruzhiya-nezavisimosti-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- FPV drones have become a mass weapon: more than 160 manufacturers, capacity of over 8 million units per year, 3 million delivered in 2025.
- In the first half of 2026, the state contracted for unmanned aerial vehicles worth 333.6 billion hryvnia, with the largest category being FPV drones.
- The 'Neptune' missile (R-360) with a range of up to 1,000 km has gone from coastal defense to a tool for deep strikes.
- Ukraine and the EU launched the Drone Deal partnership: 9 signed agreements and about 15 in progress as of early August 2026.
- Russian sources put forward an alternative narrative about Western factories being 'embedded' in Ukraine's defense-industrial complex, which the Ukrainian side does not confirm.

Over 35 years of Independence, the Ukrainian defense-industrial complex has developed a number of original, and in some cases unique, types of weapons that have not only pushed back but, in certain niches, outpaced the Russian adversary. According to industry experts relied upon by RBC-Ukraine, the country's defense sector is today experiencing a genuine renaissance after years of pre-war stagnation. Below are the key developments that, in the view of specialists, have defined the face of modern Ukrainian weaponry.

### FPV drones: from civilian technology to industrial scale

FPV quadcopters, converted into suicide drones, are called the main 'game changers' of the full-scale invasion. Their revolutionary nature lies in the fact that before their emergence, precision strikes were the prerogative of expensive and complex systems applied in a pinpoint manner, whereas FPV drones are an extremely cheap mass-produced item: a drone costing a few hundred to a few thousand dollars can destroy equipment worth millions — tanks, artillery, electronic warfare systems, air defense systems. The first combat use took place in June 2022 by a unit of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade. Today in Ukraine, more than 160 companies produce FPV drones, with a combined capacity exceeding 8 million drones per year; in 2025 the Defense Forces received 3 million such units, and in the first half of 2026 the state contracted for unmanned aerial vehicles of various types worth 333.6 billion hryvnia, with FPV drones becoming the largest category. According to Igor Fedirko, CEO of the Ukrainian Council of Armaments, Ukraine has effectively turned a civilian technology into a mass class of guided weapons and created a new defense industry around it.

### The international Drone Deal format

Against the backdrop of successful drone use, Ukraine and the EU launched a new format of defense partnership — Drone Deal. As of early August 2026, Ukraine has already signed nine agreements, with another approximately 15 international contracts in progress. Military personnel of NATO countries acknowledge that Ukraine's experience in using FPV drones is still out of reach for most of the world's armies: in January, a special strike-drone unit was established in the US military to work out new approaches and study the lessons of the war in Ukraine.

### 'Neptune': from coastal defense to a tool for deep strikes

The R-360 'Neptune' anti-ship cruise missile was developed by engineers of the Kyiv 'Lyuch' Design Bureau between 2010 and 2020; a modification for striking ground targets also exists. The missile is designed to destroy ships of up to 5,000 tons displacement, has a warhead weighing 150 kg (350 kg in the ground variant), a subsonic speed of about 900 km/h, flies at ultra-low altitudes and can maneuver in flight; its range reaches up to 1,000 km depending on the modification. By the developers' design, it was intended for use from shipborne, ground and aerial platforms. The first combat use took place on 14 April 2022: a strike by two missiles hit the guided-missile cruiser 'Moskva' — the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet — whose ammunition exploded and the ship sank. In March 2025, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the successful use of the 'Long Neptune' with a range of up to 1,000 km, which turned the coastal missile platform into a tool for deep precision strikes.

### Contradictory data

Assessments of the role and even the 'ownership' of these developments diverge sharply depending on the side. The Ukrainian side and RBC-Ukraine present the defense-industrial complex as a self-sufficient national industry creating unique systems and an export defense product. At the same time, a number of Russian sources build the opposite narrative: thus, in publications citing V. Medvedchuk, it is claimed that German and other Western factories are 'embedded' in the Ukrainian defense-industrial complex and, according to them, are in fact participants in hostilities; other materials claim the 'privatization' of Ukrainian developments by Western partners and missile strikes on a range featuring a Ukrainian defense-industrial complex exhibition. These versions are not confirmed by Ukrainian sources and do not appear in the RBC-Ukraine article; however, the editorial team records them as an existing alternative viewpoint in the information space so that the reader can see both sides of the dispute.

### Significance for the balance of power

The combination of these factors — mass and cheap drone weaponry, long-range precision missiles and a growing industrial base — forms what experts call a new quality in Ukrainian defense. Even accounting for disagreements in interpretation, the fact of scaling FPV production to millions of units per year and the transition of 'Neptune' from coastal defense to deep strikes makes these developments central elements of Ukraine's modern military doctrine.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Missile strike on Russia and a 'clean' Black Sea: TOP-5 weapons of Independence that made this possible](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/raketi-rf-ta-chiste-chorne-more-top-5-zbroyi-1787309650.html) - Первичный источник: экспертный обзор РБК-Украина по FPV-дронам, «Нептуну», Drone Deal, цифрам производства и контрактов. Использован как основа фактологии.
- [Ukraine's defense-industrial complex is being robbed by Western colonizers](https://argumenti.ru/society/ukrainskiy-vpk-obvorovyvayut-zapadnye-kolonizatory-1004423) - Альтернативный (российский) нарратив о «приватизации» наработок ВПК западными партнерами. Не подтверждается украинскими источниками; отражен в блоке противоречий.
- [Medvedchuk: German factories have embedded themselves in Ukraine's defense-industrial complex, they are participants in hostilities](https://news.mail.ru/politics/71610800/) - Заявление В. Медведчука о «встраивании» немецких заводов в украинский ВПК. Не подтверждено; указано как точка зрения в блоке противоречий.
- [Missile strike right at an exhibition: Russian forces hit a range featuring the elite of Ukraine's defense-industrial complex with 'Zircon' missiles ...](https://argumenti.ru/army/raketnyy-prilet-pryamo-na-vystavku-vs-rf-nakryli-cirkonami-poligon-s-elitoy-1004392) - Альтернативный (российский) нарратив о «приватизации» наработок ВПК западными партнерами. Не подтверждается украинскими источниками; отражен в блоке противоречий.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: What are FPV drones and why are they considered 'game changers'?
**A:** FPV drones are high-speed quadcopters converted into suicide drones. They are cheap and mass-produced, which allows precision strikes where expensive complex systems were previously required. A drone costing hundreds to thousands of dollars can destroy equipment worth millions.

### Q: When did the first combat use of FPV drones take place?
**A:** According to RBC-Ukraine, the first combat use of FPV drones took place in June 2022 by a unit of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade.

### Q: What is the scale of FPV production in Ukraine?
**A:** In Ukraine, more than 160 companies produce FPV drones, with a combined capacity exceeding 8 million drones per year. In 2025 the Defense Forces received 3 million such units, and in the first half of 2026 the state contracted for unmanned aerial vehicles worth 333.6 billion hryvnia.

### Q: What is Drone Deal and what are its results?
**A:** Drone Deal is a new format of defense partnership between Ukraine and the EU, launched against the backdrop of successful drone use. As of early August 2026, nine agreements have been signed, with another approximately 15 international contracts in progress.

### Q: What are the characteristics of the 'Neptune' missile?
**A:** The R-360 'Neptune' was developed by the 'Lyuch' Design Bureau between 2010 and 2020. It is designed to destroy ships of up to 5,000 tons, has a 150 kg warhead (350 kg in the ground variant), a subsonic speed of about 900 km/h and a range of up to 1,000 km. The first combat use was on 14 April 2022 against the cruiser 'Moskva'.

### Q: Are there disagreements in the assessment of these developments?
**A:** Yes. The Ukrainian side presents the defense-industrial complex as a self-sufficient national industry, whereas a number of Russian sources claim the 'embedding' of Western factories and the 'privatization' of developments. These versions are not confirmed by Ukrainian sources and are reflected in the article as an alternative viewpoint.