In December 2022, the Ministry of Defense entered into a contract worth 807 million for 55 "HAWK" unmanned aerial vehicles. The family company of former MP Rozenblat received a 650 million advance payment for these UAVs. However, when the deadline for delivery arrived, only 4 sets had made it to the military. Only one of them successfully passed the trials.
The rest won't take off, crashed, malfunctioned, and did not provide video footage from the camera. ozenblat's former partner, who was in charge of assembling the UAVs until recently, blew the whistle on the inflated contract prices and alleged kickbacks, a matter that Rozenblat himself mentioned before the deal was signed. To make matters worse, the UAV specifications had undergone such significant changes that it appears the Ministry of Defense may have paid for something entirely different from what was initially expected.
Watch the Lesia Ivanova's report to get to know how the Ministry of Defense paid hundreds of millions for problematic UAVs.
00:00 - Drone industry at the beginning of a full-scale war
04:03 - Advertisement
05:59 - Ministry of Defense contract for 55 HAWK UAVs
10:20 - What's wrong with these UAVs
12:00 - Rozenblat on the UAV's malfunction during trials
13:36 - Only 1 out of 4 drones took off
18:36 - Quick overview of the involved company
23:34 - Conflict between Rozenblat and his partner, Pozhydaiev
31:40 - What the Ministry of Defense has to say
38:13 - Reasons for the company's frozen accounts