Ukraine and US prepare landmark drone defense deal: Details

According to the media outlet's sources, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is prepared to sign the deal on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week in New York City. However, the deal may instead be finalized at a later date, when the US is ready to sign.

Over the past year, the US Department of Defense and its Ukrainian counterpart have developed a framework that would allow the two countries' militaries to expand testing and production of Ukrainian defense technology in the US.

The importance of such cooperation has become particularly clear amid the war with Iran. During the first days of the war, Iran began targeting American military installations across the Middle East with Shahed one-way attack drones.

The US and the Gulf states initially lacked cost-effective means to intercept such drones. Ukraine sent drone interceptors and pilots to help.

Ukraine has since signed defense agreements with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, among other countries. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also said Ukraine aims to produce 10 million drones this year.

However, experts emphasize that Ukraine's advantage lies not only in producing the drones themselves. Software, operator training, and teams that constantly adapt the technology to battlefield conditions also play an important role.

According to CBS News, in March, then-US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll called Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, who has since founded Perennial Autonomy, a US drone company active in Ukraine.

Driscoll asked Schmidt to supply the US military with 13,000 Merops interceptor drones and 10,000 Bumblebee reconnaissance and strike drones.

According to the media outlet's sources, the drones were sent to the US military within days. However, it took weeks before they became operational because Ukrainian components arrived late.

Merops drones use components manufactured by Ukrainian company Sine Engineering, as well as Ukrainian warheads. Ukrainian expertise was also needed to integrate the drones into US air defense radars before they could be used in combat.

At the same time, Washington is seeking to expand its own drone arsenal. The US Drone Dominance Program has invited American and select foreign companies, primarily Ukrainian ones, to compete for drone contracts from the US military. The program hopes to purchase more than 200,000 drones by 2027.

Skyfall, one of Ukraine's largest drone manufacturers, won the program's first trial earlier this year. Perennial Autonomy and US company Neros, which also operates in Ukraine, won the second.

According to the sources, the future agreement between Ukraine and the US would go beyond contracts with individual Ukrainian manufacturers. It is expected to create a broader framework for Ukrainian defense companies to work directly with American companies and the US military.

At the same time, the value of such a partnership will depend not only on transferring technology but also on the ability to share Ukraine's practical experience in using drones with the American side.

This includes coordination, operational planning, understanding the battlefield environment, and communication between operators. This body of knowledge, according to Fairlamb, is an important part of Ukraine's experience in using drones on the battlefield.

Zelenskyy-Trump meeting

On September 22, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

The leaders discussed, among other things, the possibility of an energy and maritime ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.

Before meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump said that the war in Ukraine would end "more quickly than people understand."

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said he hopes to end the war before winter with the help of the US.

During the meeting, Trump also raised the possibility of holding new talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.