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Finland’s Summa Defence establishes drone production facility with Ukrainian partners

28th November 2024 - 14:30 GMT | by Shephard News Team in London

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Summa Drones, a subsidiary of Summa Defence, will hold the majority ownership of the joint venture. (Photo: Summa Defence)

The Finnish defence and security group will work with Ukrainian drone companies to speed up production of platforms for Ukraine and across the European Union (EU) and NATO countries.

Finland’s Summa Defence is to build a facility to manufacture uncrewed vehicles in Finland in collaboration with Ukrainian partners.

According to the company, the facility will increase production of drones for use in combat in Ukraine and widescale manufacture of aerial, ground and marine uncrewed systems is planned to start in the first half of 2025. Establishing a production base in Finland will help enhance the security of drone supply to Ukraine, Summa Defence added.

The Ukrainian companies in the joint venture are Kort, Elf Systems, Skyassist and MPS Development. Summa Defence also said it is also in negotiations to purchase several companies in the security and defence technology sector.

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Jussi Holopainen, CEO of Summa Defence, said: “The demand for drone technology and production capability is high. Drones will be delivered not only to Ukraine but also across the EU and NATO countries.

“Drones will become a permanent part of society, playing a vital role in securing critical societal functions across civilian, defence, and security sectors.

“The drones, which will become part of Summa Defence Group’s product portfolio through the joint venture, have already demonstrated their importance and strategic capabilities in Ukraine. Drones play a key role in protecting critical infrastructure and in emergency and rescue missions.”

Kyiv and Moscow have been competing to see who can harness the capabilities of AI and human-controlled drones since the conflict started.