Today marks three years since Russiaβs illegal, unprovoked, and brutal invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian people have heroically fought the war with grit and determination, but they have also, against the odds, innovated on and off the battlefield.Β In addition to establishing a defense tech initiative calledΒ BRAVE1, the country has also hosted tech conferences like [β¦]
German drone maker Quantum Systems says it will double its production capacity in Ukraine in 2025.
The company has supplied Ukraine with drones since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
Billionaire Peter Thiel is one of the investors backing the startup.
German drone manufacturer Quantum Systems has said it will double its production capacity in Ukraine in 2025.
In a press release on Friday, the Peter Thiel-backed startup said the planned expansion reflected its "unwavering commitment" to ensure Kyiv gets the technology it needs amid its ongoing war with Russia.
Quantum, which has already established two facilities in Ukraine, produces several uncrewed aerial systems used by Kyiv, including the "Vector" reconnaissance drone and the "Trinity" mapping drone. Since the start of the invasion, Ukraine has ordered hundreds of these systems from the company.
Quantum's Vector drone is primarily used for target identification and surveillance.
It can fly for up to 180 minutes, allows for real-time video streaming over a range of 35 kilometers (almost 22 miles), and has vertical take-off and landing capability, the company says. The "rucksack portable" drone weighs just 18 pounds and is equipped with on-board AI.
The Munich-based company also produces the "Trinity Pro" and "Trinity Tactical," which are used for mapping and surveying.
These drones can cover an area of 700 hectares in one flight and can fly for 90 minutes, Quantum says. They can use a variety of sensors to gather data, such as multi-spectral cameras and LiDAR scanners.
They can be deployed to help with environmental and battle damage assessments, as well as surveying and mapping key infrastructure and terrain, among other things.
Founded in 2015, Quantum has raised more than $200 million, per Crunchbase.
Billionaire and PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel is one of the investors to have pumped money into the company, taking part in a financing round alongside Project A and Sanno Capital in 2022.
Speaking at the time, Thiel said: "The future of UAS is in neither software nor hardware alone, but in the intelligent synthesis of the two."
"With that understanding, Quantum-Systems is a leap ahead of its competition," he added.
Quantum's CEO Florian Seibel previously told Business Insider that the company planned to gain an edge on competitors by taking what he called a "Tesla approach."
"You have to do everything from A to Z," he said. "You are a hardware company, you are a manufacturing company, you are a data service company. That makes it a very complex business case, but that also makes it very defendable."
Their prominence on the battlefield has led Kyiv to significantly ramp up domestic production efforts and imports.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced in early 2024 the creation of a separate branch of the country's armed forces dedicated solely to uncrewed systems.
Ukraine's defense ministry said in January that its armed forces would also get an additional UAH 2.5 billion (almost $60 million) a month to procure new drones, in a move designed to enable brigades to purchase the equipment they need directly.
A Chinese vessel (not pictured) was spotted in the Baltic Sea close to where internet cables were severed.
Jens BΓΌttner/picture alliance via Getty Images
A Chinese ship was seen near severed Baltic Sea internet cables, the FT reported.
Germany's defense minister said the incidents were likely to have been "caused by sabotage."
An unnamed source told the FT that Sweden is investigating whether China was involved.
Sweden is investigating the sighting of a Chinese vessel near where two Baltic Sea internet cables were severed, the Financial Times reported.
The first cable β a 135-mile internet link between Lithuania and Sweden's Gotland Island β stopped working on Sunday.
Later on Monday, a 730-mile cable carrying data between Germany and Finland was cut.
Boris Pistorius, Germany's defense minister, said on Tuesday that it was being assumed that the two incidents were "caused by sabotage."
"No one believes that the cables were accidentally damaged," he said.
A joint statement by France, Italy, Germany, Poland, and Britain had previously suggested that Russia was involved. However, China is now also being investigated.
Yi Peng 3, a Chinese-registered cargo ship, was traveling from Russia to Egypt when it passed the two cables at around the same time each was cut on Sunday and Monday, according to Marine Traffic data obtained by FT.
The ship was then followed closely by the Danish Navy, open-source intelligence experts told the outlet.
The Danish defense ministry said it was "in the area near" the Chinese ship in a statement on X Wednesday, amid unconfirmed reports that Danish officials had boarded the vessel.
Erin Murphy, coauthor of a recent Center for Strategic and International Studies report on the threat to undersea cables, speculated that China may be working in tandem with Russia.
"There have been questions about China's support or lack of opposition to Russia's war in Ukraine but if intentional, this is an aggressive step by a China that typically operates in the Indo-Pacific region," Murphy told BI.
In 2023, a Chinese vessel was investigated after dragging its anchor and damaging gas and telecommunications lines in the Gulf of Finland. China cooperated with the investigation.
In a joint statement on Monday, the Foreign Ministers of Finland and Germany said they were "deeply concerned" about the incidents.
"The fact that such an incident immediately raises suspicions of intentional damage speaks volumes about the volatility of our times," the statement said.
"A thorough investigation is underway. Our European security is not only under threat from Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, but also from hybrid warfare by malicious actors," they added.
"Safeguarding our shared critical infrastructure is vital to our security and the resilience of our societies."
The International Union of Marine Insurance estimates that repairing damaged cables usually costs between $7 and $12 million.
Representatives for Sweden's Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Marine Traffic, and China's Embassy in the UK did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
