Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is pursuing drone deals with European nations, even as the U.S. has so far delayed such a deal and as Ukraine uses increasingly long range, kamikaze “one way attack” drones to strike Russian infrastructure.
“Today every country needs the modern means to at least monitor and protect its own airspace and sea borders,” Zelenskyy told the Council of the European Union in Dublin on Tuesday. “Without Ukraine, without Ukraine’s experience and security expertise–tested in modern war, it is impossible to guarantee security today, especially when it comes to air defense and maritime security.”
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the second ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), the second ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee’s defense panel, sponsored the legislation. Kaptur is also a co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus.
On June 9, Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, introduced companion legislation, S. 4711, in the Senate.
Zelenskyy told Face the Nation on May 31 that Ukraine had “wanted to conclude the first drone deal with the United States.”
“The U.S. wanted to test all types of our drones,” he said. “We agreed to the way they wanted to test, train with, and use our systems in the air, on land, and at sea, but we still don’t have a bilateral drone deal–a big framework document…American companies have advanced AI technologies we don’t have. In turn, we have many things they don’t have, due to our extensive experience on the battlefield.”
“We need to negotiate, not just talk about it,” Zelenskyy said. “Take the necessary steps and do it as quickly as possible. For this, we need President Trump to say yes.”
This month, Ukraine and Latvia signed a drone deal, and Ukraine is negotiating drone deals with the EU and other EU members, including Finland, Denmark, Ireland, and Bulgaria. Beside Latvia, Ukraine has drone deals with Norway, the Netherlands, and Germany.
While the United States begins its Drone Dominance Program (DDP) to field drones with a unit cost below $10,000, U.S. drones with Pentagon-heralded battle experience outside of Ukraine have been non-disposable, higher-end ones. One Ukrainian company, Ukrainian Defense Drones, has been selected by the DDP to manufacture attritable small drones.
On May 20, U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach told the House Armed Services Committee that the number of air-to-ground strikes in Iran by U.S. Air Force MQ-9A Reapers by General Atomics has far outstripped the number by any other aircraft.
“For Epic Fury, perhaps the most valuable player was unmanned–the MQ-9,” Wilsbach said. “We’ve made many, many strikes. I don’t want to say how many because the number’s classified, but no other platform’s even close to the MQ-9. We get a lot of utility out of them.”
The Pentagon said at the time that it had made more than 13,000 strikes on Iran since Feb. 28.
The Air Force has lost at least 24 MQ-9A Reapers in the Iran strikes, and the service is looking at a follow-on to the Reaper that would significantly reduce the drone’s unit cost, which ranges between $30 million and $50 million.
U.S.-Ukrainian drone co-production so far has included the $15,000 Multi-spectral Extended Range Optical Sight (MEROPS) interceptor drone by Perennial Autonomy, formerly Swift Beat LLC–an American company established by Eric Schmidt, the former head of Alphabet Inc.‘s Google.
Another Perennial Autonomy drone that has seen use in Ukraine is the Hornet, a $5,000, Group 2 kamikaze drone able to fly silently in the terminal phase to evade electronic jamming and use SpaceX‘s Starlink communications terminals to strike Russian supply lines, including truck convoys, more than 150 miles away.
A version of this story originally appeared in sister publication Defense Daily.
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