Kyiv says the system establishes clear rules for international partners to acquire battle-tested Ukrainian hardware.
Ukraine has approved a new export mechanism that will allow Ukrainian defence manufacturers to sell products abroad.
The Ukrainian ministry of defence announced the new framework on 1 July, saying countries with existing agreements on joint production and technology exchange will receive accelerated export approvals in 30 days or less.
Specifically mentioned are nations that signed agreements with Kyiv under the “Drone Deal” framework, which include the Netherlands, Lithuania, and Latvia.
Denmark, Germany, Canada and the USA are preparing similar agreements, according to Kyiv, that will allow for access to Ukrainian defence technologies.
“For the first time, Ukraine has established a clear procedure that sets out a single transparent framework for the government, manufacturers and international partners,” says defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov. “Opening exports marks another important step in strengthening Ukraine’s defence industry and economy.”
The process will be jointly managed by ministries for defence and foreign affairs.
Sales valued at UAH15 million ($335,000) or more will require export approval. Transfers will come without any intellectual property rights, and any re-export or third-party transfers will require approval from Kyiv.
The Ukrainian government will exact 20% taxes on third-party sales by primary export customers.
Fedorov says Ukrainian firms will only receive approval for overseas sales if they demonstrate ability to meet materiel requirements of the Ukrainian armed forces.
“Manufacturers will be allowed to export their products if they can guarantee the simultaneous fulfilment of both government contracts and export orders,” he notes.
After an initial dependence on Western-supplied hardware after Russia’s 2022 invasion, Ukraine has developed its own expansive defence industry, with particular expertise in small drones and unmanned aerial systems.
Ukrainian manufacturers like Fire Point have also expanded into long-range munitions, including large cruise missiles like the FP-5 Flamingo and one-way attack systems like the FP-1 kamikazie drone.
The country’s armed forces and manufacturers have also pioneered development and employment of small counter-UAS drone interceptors. These ultra-cheap vertical take-off and landing systems allow a cost-effective frontline defence against massed waves of one-way attack systems like the Russian Geran-2 and Iranian Shahed-136.
Those hybrid weapons, which combine attributes of UAS and cruise missiles, have proven effective against Western ground-based air defences designed to engage smaller numbers of high-speed or high-altitude targets with expensive missiles.
With years of frontline experience in drone warfare and scaling industrial output to meet the demands of modern combat, Western governments and companies are now turning to Ukraine.
“They do five to seven million drones a year. We do thousands,” Saab chief executive Micael Johansson said in May at the Globsec Forum in Prague. “We have so much to learn from them, and we have to get them into the industrial base of Europe.”
That process has also begun in North America.
Ukrainian weapons manufacturer F-Drones announced its first US production line on 29 June, located near Toledo, Ohio. Funded via a contract issued under the Pentagon’s $1 billion Drone Dominance programme, F-Drones plans to deliver an initial batch of 2,000 first-person-view military drones via its US partner, Ukrainian Defense Drones.
The deal marks the first time a Ukrainian defence company has been approved to export military drones to the US.
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