Ukraine Drone Brief: Inaugural Edition

Short on time? This 2-page weekly brief distills the key developments in unmanned warfare in Ukraine and Russia—across domains, including C-UAS, industry activity, and opportunities to work with Ukraine.

This inaugural edition is open-access. Future briefs will be reserved for founding members. Subscribe to save time and gain access to high-signal insights on drone warfare in Ukraine and Russia.
• Ukraine aims to produce more than 7 million drones in 2026. According to the MoD, over 4 million drones were produced in 2025.
• Ukrainian 1st Azov Corps claimed that its drones, which can be identified as Hornets, are flying over the occupied Donetsk city. The fixed-wing AI-enabled Hornet drone is built by US-based Swift Beat LLC. Starlink satellite terminals are used to ensure reliable communication with operators.
• Moves toward standardization: Ukraine is introducing a universal ground control station for fiber-optic drones. Previously, military personnel relied on a variety of systems with different features, which complicated their use. Fiber-optic drones remain one of the most significant challenges on the frontline, with no effective countermeasure yet identified.
• As global prices increase, Ukraine’s MoD has updated the procurement mechanism for fiber-optic drones by introducing contract price adjustments tied to fluctuations in the cost of key components.
• The UK will transfer 120,000 unmanned systems to Ukraine by the end of 2026, including long-range strike drones, intelligence and reconnaissance platforms, logistics drones, and maritime capabilities.
• Ukraine has introduced drone assault units that combine aerial and ground unmanned systems. According to Ukraine, since February, a large area of territory has been liberated, thanks to the use ​of ​these advanced ⁠units.
• Russia has developed a system that enables coordinated group use of strike drones based on Supercam reconnaissance drones. It is claimed that within this concept, a single operator can control up to ten kamikaze drones.
• Russia has built new launch rails for its jet-powered Geran drones. The launch rails reach approximately 85 meters—about three times longer than those for conventional UAVs.
• Ukraine is scaling the use of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) across a wide range of missions and plans to supply 25,000 units in the first half of 2026. In 2025, it supplied 15,000 UGVs. Currently, UGVs are used mostly for logistics and med-evac missions, but their role as strike systems is growing. Russia prioritizes strikes against Ukraine’s UGVs using their fiber-optic and regular FPV drones.
• For the first time, Ukraine destroyed a Russian kamikaze Shahed-type drone using an interceptor drone (STING/Wild Hornets) launched from an unmanned surface vessel (naval drone). The interceptor drone was specifically designed for this mission – it features a more advanced communications system and a remote launch capability.
• Naval drones are evolving into mobile launch platforms: a vessel reaches a designated point, deploys 10–15 multirotor drones, and acts as both air defence and a strike system. Operators can control those multi-rotor drones remotely from any city—mirroring the logic of a ‘Spiderweb’-type operation, but at sea.
• A Ukrainian manufacturer, Wild Hornets, demonstrated what it called a “record-breaking” launch of an interceptor drone over 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles), with the operator based in northern Ukraine. They used their Hornet Vision Ctrl system.
• More than 10 manufacturers in Ukraine have integrated remote control for interceptor drones into their systems, enabling the destruction of aerial targets from distances of hundreds to even thousands of kilometers.
• Ukraine simplified the process of upgrading aircraft to counter Russian drones. It is now possible to install weapons and communications, navigation, and target detection systems without lengthy approvals. The entire process will be reduced to one month. Now, there are reports of An-28 aircraft being equipped with P1-SUN interceptors.

Ukraine is advancing industrial cooperation and joint drone production with international partners, primarily in Europe and North America, and is also expanding into Asia.
• According to a Tech Force in UA survey, 90% of Ukrainian defence companies have received partnership offers from foreign manufacturers, led by the United States (36% of requests), followed by Germany (29%), Denmark (21%), the United Arab Emirates (19%), and the United Kingdom (17%).
• Ukraine expands “Drone Deal” partnerships: The agreement was signed with the Netherlands (April 16).
• A separate, broader defence agreement was signed with Germany (April 14), under which Germany will continue to support Ukraine’s drone industry and facilitate co-production ventures.
• “Build with Ukraine” initiative: Germany’s Quantum-Systems is partnering with Ukrainian WIY Drones to work on air defence capabilities. Quantum-Systems has also partnered with Tencore on the development of ground robots.
• Auterion Airlogix Joint Venture GmbH has received an order to produce thousands of heavy drones (Anubis and Seth-X), equipped with artificial intelligence, for Ukraine, with Germany’s support.
• Ukrainian Tencore and French Shark Robotics are establishing a joint venture to produce ground robotic systems.
• Japanese Terra Drone is partnering with Amazing Drones on interceptor drone production. Their Terra A1 interceptor has reportedly moved from laboratory testing to frontline deployment.
• Drawing on Ukraine’s experience, NATO artillery crews training in the Arctic are incorporating drones into targeting practices. However, the systems used in these exercises have demonstrated vulnerability to the harsh Arctic environment.
• The United States has reportedly deployed Ukraine’s Sky Map command platform—developed by Sky Fortress with support from Brave1—at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, where it integrates radar and over 10,000 acoustic sensors into an interactive dashboard for real-time threat tracking.
• Brave1 UK Roadshow: In June, Brave1 will host the UK Investment Tour, bringing Ukrainian defence companies to present their technologies to the key players in the UK defence industry. Register here.
• The Defence Tech Department of the Snake Island Institute (associated with the Third Army Corps) is building a data bank of acoustic signatures to counter FPV threats. Over a 9–12 month period, the team will create a comprehensive library of real-world FPV acoustic signatures across diverse operational conditions. They are looking for 25,000 EUR in funding.
• Dragon Sky drone training and research center conducts consulting programs for producers of unmanned technologies from partner countries, including testing under combat conditions of UAV systems, UGV/USV systems, electronic warfare solutions (detection and jamming), software (detection, planning, and communications), safety countermeasures, and other systems (such as lasers, radars, and AI) at its facilities.…Read more by Olena Kryzhanivska