Ukraine and US Draft Drone Production and Technology Cooperation Memorandum

Ukraine and the United States have drafted a memorandum for a potential defense agreement focusing on joint drone production and technology cooperation. This move signifies deeper industrial integration, linking Ukraine’s wartime drone production with American defense manufacturing.

The draft, prepared by the US State Department and Ukrainian Ambassador to the US Olha Stefanishyna, is an initial step toward a broader «Drone Deal» framework. This framework would expand joint manufacturing and allow limited technology exchange. The talks coincide with Kyiv’s preparation to launch a regulated defense export system under its new «Drone Deals» framework, unveiled by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in April. This model prioritizes supplies for Ukraine’s Armed Forces while allowing the export of surplus weapons production, with some categories having up to 50% surplus capacity, particularly drones.

Ukraine’s drone sector has become central to its wartime defense industry, with production scaled to millions annually. Ukrainian firms are also developing electronic warfare and autonomous navigation systems for operation under Russian jamming, attracting Western defense interest. Ukrainian companies have already established production and cooperation arrangements in the US, and the Pentagon has invited several into its unmanned systems procurement initiatives.

This draft agreement formalizes defense-industrial cooperation, despite previous internal resistance within parts of the US administration. Ukrainian officials emphasize that any expanded exports will be tightly controlled under national security oversight, with approvals coordinated by the National Security and Defense Council and restrictions on sensitive technologies and destination countries.