European firms accused of spying on Ukrainian drone tech - The Telegraph

The outlet spoke with Roman Knyazhenko, CEO of the Ukrainian company Skyeton — a well-known drone manufacturer whose systems are used by nearly the entire Ukrainian army.

Among its range of UAVs, Skyeton produces Raybird systems, which have logged over 350,000 hours of combat flight time.

Industrial espionage

Knyazhenko stated that some Western defense companies — which he did not name — had visited his company under the pretense of proposing partnerships. In reality, their representatives allegedly used the talks to attempt to steal technology.

"Many European drone makers are doing a fantastic job, and we work with a number of them. But others are promising a lot just to talk with you more, to find out what secrets you have, and then they’re disappearing. These dishonest companies are trying to sniff around to find out how we're operating, what kind of solutions we have that work on the battlefield," he said.

Widespread falsification

Knyazhenko added that some Western companies falsify combat testing of their drones. In reality, he said, these drones perform only a few short flights thousands of kilometers away from the front lines — yet European governments end up investing billions in systems that ultimately don't work.

"Then they do beautiful pitch books, beautiful presentations about how they're operating in Ukraine. But actually they've done just a couple of flights in Lviv [the western city more than 1,000km from the front line]," he said.

Knyazhenko also noted that attempts to steal intellectual property go beyond just technical drone data — some companies even steal presentations.

"Sometimes I open presentations of other [unmanned] aircrafts from Europe, and I see literally my own words, without any change. The big problem, after that, is that billions of dollars go to the companies that still don't have any idea what they're doing," he said.

As a result, he warned, countries purchasing unproven UAV systems are investing in technologies that are essentially fakes — and in critical moments, they risk being left with drones that can't hit targets or function on the battlefield.

Drone development: How the United States is responding

Meanwhile, in the US, the Pentagon has authorized American military commanders to purchase and test drones, as well as conduct combat simulations involving UAVs. The United States aims to become a global leader in drone use and production within two years.

In early June, President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders aimed at enhancing the country's drone capabilities. The documents call for increased security and a reduction in dependence on foreign manufacturers.