Not Enough Money for Bayraktar Drones, Latvian Donors Obtain Cheaper Locally-made UAVs for Ukraine

Latvian donors have decided to buy cheaper, locally-made drones as they have raised only 900,000 euros against 5 million Euros needed to buy Turkish Bayraktar UAVs for the Ukrainian Army.

The drones to be purchased are manufactured by a local company, Atlas Aerospace, said the organizers of the donation campaign, Latvian publication, Delfi reported.

According to one of the initiators of the campaign, musician Ralf Eilands, taking into account the situation in which Latvian donors are on the eve of winter, and with a change in the situation at the front, the funds will be used to purchase Atlas Pro drones, made by Atlas Aerospace.

It will take a long time to raise the millions needed to buy Bayraktars, and there are needs (of drones) on the front lines now. Atlas Aerospace drones are ready to be sent.

It is planned to send 15 sets of drones and 15 supporting vehicles to Ukraine. Each of these kits contains three drones, for a total of 45.

The drones are not equipped with warheads and will serve for reconnaissance and communications purposes.

It was reported that the collection of donations through ziedot.lv began on the morning of 16 August. At the moment, out of the necessary 5 million euros for the purchase of a Turkish drone, about 0.9 million euros have been collected.

Atlas Aerospace released the following statement today:

The Government of the Republic of Latvia took a decision to spend a portion of the funds raised by  Latvians to purchase drones for reconnaissance and communications produced by ATLAS.

Ivan Tolchinsky, CEO of ATLAS, said: “Ukraine will receive 55 drone complexes from Latvian people. They include 165 drones, ground control stations, repeaters, a few payloads, and a set of spare parts."

Also, ATLAS is donating 30 drones free of charge to Ukrainian defenders, the statement said.

Ukraine needs drones to ensure victory. With the use of small UAVs, it possible for every soldier to get real-time information about the position and movements of the enemy. It's a tremendous advantage in monitoring how the battlefield is changing and enables small group to attack exactly where it is most needed, reducing casualties, and risk, while increasing effectiveness, - Ivan Tolchinsky has added.

AtlasPRO drones can work in Swarms

The AtlasPRO drones are built to NATO standards. UAVs are used by the Dutch and British armies for intelligence and targeting purposes, and have robust anti-jamming and spoofing protection.

AtlasPRO drones work in swarms. MESH allows one operator to control several drones at once from a single remote control. This is a real plus; adding capacity, force protection, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities.