Ukraine moves toward deal to build drone factory in the US

Ukraine and the United States are moving forward with plans to jointly produce Ukrainian-designed drones in the US, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as Washington seeks to draw on technology developed during more than four years of war with Russia.

Speaking in an interview with US political commentator Laura Loomer broadcast on July 24, 2026, Zelenskyy said the proposed partnership would include a factory and drone production lines in the United States.

“We will build a great factory in the United States,” Zelenskyy said. “We want to have lines of production.”

Zelenskyy described the planned cooperation as a “win-win” arrangement that would combine Ukraine’s rapidly evolving drone technology with US manufacturing and defense capabilities.

Ukraine and the United States have reportedly signed a statement of intent establishing a framework for deeper cooperation on unmanned systems. The document is an initial step rather than a final production contract, and the details of a broader agreement remain under negotiation.

A source familiar with the talks told Reuters that officials were still working through the terms ahead of Zelenskyy’s scheduled meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington on July 28, 2026. The White House confirmed that the leaders were expected to meet.

The negotiations mark a notable change in the defense relationship between the two countries. Ukraine has depended heavily on American weapons and financial assistance since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. The proposed drone partnership would see battlefield-developed Ukrainian technology transferred in the opposite direction for production and possible use by the US military.

Ukraine has become one of the world’s largest developers and users of unmanned aircraft, producing millions of drones annually and modifying designs quickly in response to changing Russian defenses and electronic warfare tactics.

Zelenskyy said Ukrainian long-range drones can now fly more than 3,000 kilometers, or approximately 1,864 miles, with further increases in range under development.

The proposed manufacturing agreement is linked to the Pentagon’s effort to acquire large numbers of inexpensive unmanned aircraft more quickly.

Ukraine has agreed to export drones to the United States for evaluation under the Pentagon’s Drone Dominance program, according to Reuters. Six Ukrainian companies have reportedly received permission to export approximately 100 drones each, although the companies and aircraft types involved have not been publicly identified.

The exports would allow the US military to assess systems developed and modified under combat conditions before any larger manufacturing program begins.

The Pentagon launched Drone Dominance to accelerate the acquisition of low-cost unmanned systems and reduce the time required to move new designs from development into operational units. US defense officials have increasingly pointed to Ukraine’s experience as evidence that traditional procurement cycles cannot keep pace with the rapid evolution of drone warfare.

Ukraine has already established or announced joint drone-production arrangements with several allied countries.

Kyiv and Denmark signed a drone agreement in July 2026 that allows Ukrainian defense companies to establish production with access to partner-country markets. Ukraine has also announced joint-production initiatives with Canada, Norway, the Netherlands, Estonia and Germany.

The Ukrainian government has also streamlined the process for transferring drone technology, weapons and technical documentation to countries participating in its international Drone Deal framework. The revised process is intended to reduce approval times to as little as 30 days.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said in June that Ukrainian manufacturers supplied 95% of the drones procured for the country’s armed forces. Nearly 485,000 unmanned systems and related items had been delivered through the government’s DOT-Chain Defence marketplace during the first five months of 2026.

No location, construction timetable, production capacity or participating manufacturers have been announced for the proposed US factory.

It also remains unclear which Ukrainian drone designs would be built in the United States or whether the aircraft would be intended primarily for the US military, Ukraine or export customers.The post Ukraine moves toward deal to build drone factory in the US appeared first on AeroTime.

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