Ukraine And The U.S. Are Preparing A Historic Agreement On Drones
- 23.09.2026, 10:36
The U.S. is adopting Ukraine's approach.
Ukraine is ready to sign a wide-ranging agreement with the United States on cooperation in the field of drone defense. This was reported by CBS News citing three sources familiar with the matter.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to sign the document during the UN General Assembly this week in New York. However, the final conclusion of the agreement may take place later, once the U.S. side is ready.
Over the past year, the U.S. Department of Defense and the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense have been working on a framework agreement that should allow for expanded testing and production of Ukrainian defense technologies on U.S. soil.
The need for such cooperation has become particularly evident against the backdrop of the war with Iran. In the early days of the conflict, Iran began attacking U.S. military facilities in the Middle East with “Shahed” strike drones—the same drones that Russia is using to attack Ukrainian cities.
According to CBS News, the U.S. and the Gulf states initially lacked sufficiently cost-effective means to intercept such drones. Ukraine sent interceptor aircraft and pilots to assist.
Since then, Ukraine has signed defense agreements, notably with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also stated that Ukraine intends to produce 10 million drones this year.
However, experts note that Ukraine’s advantage lies not only in the production of the drones themselves. Software, operator training, and teams that constantly adapt the technology to combat conditions play a key role.
“It’s not just about having the technology. It’s about how this technology is used,” Deborah Fairlamb, a founding partner of the American venture capital firm Green Flag Ventures—which invests in Ukrainian defense technologies—told CBS News.
CBS News revealed details of the collaboration, which began at the start of the war with Iran. In March, then-U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll called Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, who later founded the American company Perennial Autonomy, which manufactures drones and operates in Ukraine.
Driscoll asked Schmidt to supply the U.S. military with 13,000 Merops interceptor drones and 10,000 Bumblebee reconnaissance and strike drones.
According to CBS News sources, the drones were shipped to the U.S. military within a few days. However, it took weeks to get them operational due to delays in the delivery of Ukrainian components.
The Merops uses components manufactured by the Ukrainian company Sine Engineering, as well as Ukrainian warheads. In addition, Ukrainian expertise was required to integrate the drones with U.S. air defense radars for use in combat conditions.
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