A new production facility for Ukrainian Bars missile drones, which are already being used by the Defense Forces for long-range strikes, is expected to begin operating in Europe soon. The first products from the new facility are expected to start arriving in Ukraine as early as October 10, Defense Express reports, according to UNN.
Details
According to the publication, the Bars is already one of the most mass-produced Ukrainian missile drones in its class. It is known that around 100 such systems were used simultaneously during some operations.
The new production facility is expected to increase output, but small turbojet engines remain the main limitation. Ukrainian manufacturers depend to a significant extent on a small number of European companies that produce such engines in limited batches.
The main problem is not only the quantity but also the delivery time
As Defense Express notes, even after production increases in Europe, engine availability remains a bottleneck. The problem concerns both finished power units and individual components for them.
At the same time, the developer of the Bars has already created its own small turbojet engine, which has passed final tests. In the future, this could reduce dependence on imported components and allow production to be scaled up.
What they will be used for
Such engines are needed not only for long-range missile drones but also for jet-powered interceptor drones, which can be used against Russian jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicles.
Development of the Bars has been underway since 2023. During this time, more than 40 upgrades and iterations of the platform have been created.
The missile drone can currently have a range of up to 1,000 km, a warhead weighing up to 60 kg, and a speed of more than 700 km/h. The design is modular, so the fuel reserve and warhead weight can vary depending on the mission.
During the final stage of flight, the Bars can be guided toward its target using machine vision or manually via online control.