The EU Commission and Ukraine have signed a new defence industrial partnership and launched an EU-Ukraine Drone Deal to deepen cooperation on drone and counter-drone technologies.
In a visit to Kyiv, where she met up with Ukraine president Volodomyr Zelensky, Commission president Ursula von der Leyen also announced the disbursement of a further €1 billion to support Ukraine’s drone capabilities under the EU’s €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan.
The partnership marked a major step forward in the integration of the European and Ukrainian defence industries, according to the EU executive.
The Commission president said: “Our defence industrial partnership integrates Ukraine‘s defence economy the same way we integrate our markets: By removing barriers and aligning our standards as quickly as possible – from defence procurement to the protection of intellectual property. Allowing for a closer cooperation of our defence industries and joint ventures.”
The initiatives are expected to enable Ukrainian and EU companies to accelerate the development of critical defence capabilities, to strengthen joint industrial production and to work together on EU-funded defence research and development.
The new partnership is to provide a single, coherent EU-Ukraine framework to facilitate, coordinate and support their full implementation.
The EU and Ukraine have agreed to promote the joint production of drones and counter-drone systems between Ukraine and EU Member States by the end of 2026. The agreement aims to rapidly scale up the production and deployment of battle-proven capabilities to counter drones and missiles, while providing the long-term predictability needed to strengthen investment and expand defence industrial capacity in both Ukraine and the European Union.
The cooperation aims to protect against low- to mid-range drones and missiles, to deploy at scale battle-proven drone systems that may be stocked outside the territory of Ukraine, and to provide both defence industrial bases with the predictability needed to decisively step up investment and production.
Building on this approach, the EU and Ukraine will expand their defence industrial cooperation to the joint production of anti-ballistic missiles by 2028, helping to address critical air defence capability gaps. The partnership will prioritise cost-effective missile systems while continuing to strengthen other essential defence capabilities, including artillery production and key supply chains.
The new partnership will deepen the integration of the European and Ukrainian defence industries by removing barriers to cooperation and accelerating the alignment of standards. Work will advance across key areas, from defence procurement to the protection of intellectual property, enabling companies on both sides to cooperate more seamlessly and strengthen Europe’s common security.
The EU–Ukraine Drone Deal will bring together Europe’s industrial capacity and Ukraine’s expertise in drone innovation. It provides a European framework and coverage to incentivise further national deals and then to provide funding for the scale up and extension of joint production and orders. It is built around joint ventures between Ukrainian and European companies, and it will serve as a model to rapidly scale up the production and deployment of battle-proven capabilities in other areas, such as ballistic and anti-ballistic missile systems, and to work across the whole defence supply chains. The Deal will combine Ukraine’s battlefield-tested capabilities and Europe’s industrial strength and manufacturing scale, supporting targeted technology transfers and investment in dual-use sectors across Ukraine.
The deal will accelerate the development and production of next-generation drones and counter-drone systems, ensuring Ukraine has the capabilities it needs today while strengthening Europe’s defence readiness for the future.
The Commission will now work with Ukrainian partners and the European drone community in view of the first meeting of the 18 founding members is scheduled to take place in Brussels in September. These include ORQA d.o.o., Indra Group, Fincantieri, WB Electronics/WB Group, Destinus, Delair, RSI Europe, TERMA A/S, Quantum Systems from EU Member States. Selected Ukrainian members are LLC Skyfall Industries, LLC Greentech Harvest, LLC Tencore, LLC Deviro, LLC Vyriy Industry, Scientific production Company ‘ATHLON AVIA’ LLC, LLC TEHAVTOFART PIVDEN” (TAF Industries), UFORCE and F-Drones.
The Commission has also disbursed a further €1 billion to Ukraine for drone procurement. This represents the second payment under the first €6 billion tranche of the Ukraine Support Loan dedicated to drone procurement, a key capability enabling Ukraine to withstand Russia’s war of aggression.
BraveTech EU, the joint EU–Ukraine initiative initiative to fast-track military technology for Ukraine’s defence industry also moved to its next phase by recognising six companies selected to advance promising defence technologies: Soraccel, EdgeX Robotics, Smaesh, Kova Labs, Tempterno Defence and Rannon. In the next phase of the programme, these solutions will undergo testing under conditions reflecting the war theatre in Ukraine, thereby helping accelerate the development and deployment of technologies that respond to real battlefield needs.
Finally, Ukraine has been fully associated to the European Defence Fund (EDF) and to the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP), enabling Ukrainian and EU companies to form consortia and participate together in collaborative defence research and development projects supported by the Fund. With a budget of €7.3 billion for 2021–2027, the EDF supports the development of cutting-edge defence capabilities and strengthens cooperation across the European defence industry.
