NEW DELHI: The United States and Ukraine have reached a major milestone in defense cooperation, signing a bilateral statement of intent that paves the way for joint manufacturing and testing of battle-tested Ukrainian combat drones on American soil.

The agreement marks a significant pivot, rather than relying solely on Western military hardware, Ukraine is exporting its own low-cost, combat-proven technology to the United States.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed plans to establish a production facility in the US to build advanced unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) using Ukrainian technology.

Six Ukrainian drone developers have received authorization to export roughly 100 drones each to the US for testing and evaluation under the Pentagon’s Drone Dominance initiative.

As an early signal of this momentum, Ukrainian autonomous systems developer UFORCE signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Oregon-based shipbuilder ReconCraft to manufacture Ukraine’s MAGURA maritime attack drones in the US.

After years of high-intensity conflict, Ukraine has become a global leader in rapid drone innovation. Ukrainian platforms have demonstrated long-range strike capabilities exceeding 3,000 kilometers (1,800 miles) alongside effective interceptor and electronic warfare systems.

For Washington, the partnership allows the US military to rapidly evaluate, scale, and integrate low-cost, combat-proven autonomous systems into its defense arsenal. For Kyiv, it secures a long-term foothold within Western supply chains and industrial networks.