Latvia’s Atlas Dynamics to open drone production plant in Ukraine

MILAN, Italy — Latvian drone company Atlas Dynamics plans to open in early 2023 a research and development factory in Ukraine and later on a production plant in collaboration with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.

Since the outbreak of the war in February, Atlas Dynamics has delivered a total of 300 Atlas Pro tricopter drones to Ukrainian troops with an additional 75 set to be deployed in mid-January, according to the company’s chief executive. Thus far, small groups have been relying on the drones to find and expose Russian troop locations that can then be relayed to artillery units.

The company is now undergoing a rapid expansion. Previously, its efforts were on increasing global exports, but its attention has now shifted entirely to Ukraine as “it currently has the most incredible experience of modern warfare that is invaluable and can significantly help improve products and create new ones,” founder and CEO Ivan Tolchinsky said. The Riga-based company has also hired Ukrainian refugees to help speed up its production rate.

The company declined to disclose the precise location of the R&D office or the future assembly plant. While the first will be opened in a matter of “months,” according to Tolchinsky, the company is still coordinating with the Ukrainian Ministry on the details of the production facility. Even so, he said cooperation with Kyiv has already begun for “the creation of new products and types of equipment.”

At a weight of 1.9 kilograms (4.1 pounds), the Atlas Pro is much lighter than other platforms seen in Ukraine, and falls under the category of mini-drones, designed primarily for intelligence and surveillance missions as it is resilient against electronic warfare interference. According to Tolchinsky, the concept behind its development was that it had to be simple, convenient and easy enough for all to operate, which is why “we removed the joystick from our first remote as they gave the feeling that it was difficult to control the drone.”

In recent months, unmanned systems have drawn significant attention in Ukraine.

“Systems like the Bayraktar TB2 do help Ukraine; it is just that their use requires the cooperation of various branches of the military and other equipment to make its use effective,” Tolchinsky said. “It cannot win the war on its own, nor is it a golden wand but only a cog in a vast machine.”

He adds that although Atlas Dynamics has a long-standing relationship with the Ukrainian MoD and that the Atlas Pro was adapted to their requirements, the first weeks following the invasion showed that not all of them coincided with the realities of the war and changes had to be made. Among them, operators wanted more powerful batteries and larger swarming capabilities.

According to company projections, the ability to launch and control 50 of these drones at a time will be possible as early as the first quarter of 2023. Tolchinsky further said the company is developing new, higher-resolution cameras alongside other technologies that will be available soon.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

意大利米兰——拉脱维亚无人机公司 Atlas Dynamics 计划于 2023 年初在乌克兰开设一家研发工厂，之后将与乌克兰国防部合作开设一家生产工厂。

自2月份战争爆发以来，据阿特拉斯动力公司首席执行官透露，该公司已向乌克兰军队交付了300架阿特拉斯Pro三旋翼无人机，另有75架将于1月中旬部署。目前，一些小部队已开始依靠这些无人机来发现并暴露俄军位置，然后将信息传递给炮兵部队。

该公司目前正处于快速扩张阶段。此前，其工作重点是扩大全球出口，但现在已将全部精力转向乌克兰，因为“乌克兰目前拥有极其宝贵的现代战争经验，这能够显著帮助改进现有产品并开发新产品，”创始人兼首席执行官伊万·托尔钦斯基表示。这家总部位于里加的公司还雇佣了乌克兰难民，以帮助提高生产效率。

该公司拒绝透露研发办公室或未来组装厂的具体位置。托尔钦斯基表示，虽然第一家工厂将在“几个月内”投产，但公司仍在与乌克兰相关部门就生产设施的细节进行协调。即便如此，他表示与基辅方面的合作已经开始，旨在“开发新产品和新型设备”。

Atlas Pro重量仅为1.9公斤（4.1磅），比乌克兰常见的其他无人机平台轻得多，属于迷你无人机，主要用于情报和监视任务，因为它能够有效抵御电子战干扰。据托尔钦斯基介绍，该无人机的研发理念是简单、便捷、易于操作，因此“我们从第一代遥控器中移除了操纵杆，因为操纵杆会让人感觉难以控制无人机。”

近几个月来，无人系统在乌克兰引起了广泛关注。

托尔钦斯基说：“像Bayraktar TB2这样的系统确实对乌克兰有帮助；只是它们的使用需要各军种和其他装备的配合才能有效。它本身无法赢得战争，也不是万能的，而只是庞大机器中的一个齿轮。”

他补充说，虽然阿特拉斯动力公司与乌克兰国防部有着长期的合作关系，并且阿特拉斯Pro也根据他们的需求进行了调整，但入侵后的最初几周表明，并非所有调整都符合战争的实际情况，因此必须做出一些改变。其中，操作人员希望配备更强大的电池和更大的集群作战能力。

据公司预测，最早在2023年第一季度，即可同时发射和控制50架此类无人机。托尔钦斯基还表示，公司正在开发新型高分辨率摄像头以及其他即将推出的技术。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。