What Formula 1 can teach Ukraine’s drone industry

Motorsport enthusiasts across the world have been tuning in this weekend to watch their favourite Formula 1 teams race around the city centre of Azerbaijan's capital in one of the most enticing races in the sport's calendar. The extreme speeds reached by F1 cars require engineers to constantly push the boundaries of physics, aerodynamics and materials science. Those same engineering skills are now attracting interest from Ukrainian defence companies, albeit for a very different purpose.

Ukrainian drone manufacturer UFORCE is seeking Formula 1 engineers to contribute their expertise to the company’s next generation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Speaking to the Drone Front outlet, UFORCE CEO Oleg Rogynskyy said the company is looking for specialists with experience in composite materials, carbon fibre, sensors and engine performance.

Formula 1 teams place particular emphasis on reducing vehicle weight without compromising reliability, an approach Rogynskyy believes could also improve the capabilities of drones.

UFORCE has already brought motorsport engineers together with Ukrainian specialists to work on projects involving both electric and conventional engines. Their efforts focus on finding the right balance between weight, power consumption, computing capacity and operational range.

“Every time we combine a Formula 1 engineer with our Ukrainian talent and set them a common task, real magic occurs,” Rogynskyy told DOU. “We are ready to take on all the strong specialists who come to us.”

UFORCE develops drones for maritime, ground and aerial operations. Its portfolio includes the MAGURA family of naval drones, which has been credited with carrying out strikes against Russian vessels.

According to DOU, the company’s systems have been involved in more than 150,000 combat missions.

Rogynskyy said UFORCE also wants its drones operating in different environments to share a common software architecture, enabling them to coordinate more effectively.

“Our goal is to build a fully integrated robotic army that operates in all domains: on land, in water, in the sky, and in the [counter-drone] system. And most importantly, all of this functions on a single software level,” Rogynskyy explained.

By Nazrin Sadigova