F-Drones is the first Ukrainian producer authorised by Kyiv to export its uncrewed weapons to the US military.
For the first time, a Ukrainian manufacturer of military drones is establishing a production line in the United States.
F-Drones specialises in assembling the small, first-person view (FPV) quadcopters that have become ubiquitous with the more than four-year-old Russia-Ukraine War. The company’s platforms can be used for direct kinetic strike, battlefield reconnaissance and counter-drone air defence.
In May, F-Drones was selected by the Pentagon to provide systems to the US military, which has been slow to field small drones to frontline combat units. A key factor in the Ukrainian company securing that deal is the lack of Chinese components in its drones, which is a disqualifying factor for US military procurement.
The milestone marked the first time authorities in Kyiv had approved the export of military drone systems to the US. In response, F-Drones said on 29 June that it will establish a production line in Ohio via the company’s US partner, Ukrainian Defense Drones (UDD).
“Becoming the first Ukrainian drone manufacturer authorised by the government of Ukraine to export drone systems to the US military is a historic milestone, and the next step is to share the technology to produce these drones on American soil,” says F-Drones chief executive Stas Khutor.
The deal will “strengthen the security and technological leadership of both our nations”, Khutor adds.
While the US military was the global leader in the development of large uncrewed combat aerial vehicles like the General Atomics MQ-1B Predator and MQ-9A Reaper, the Pentagon has struggled to get small, disposable FPV drones into the hands of American troops.
That market is overwhelmingly dominated by Chinese manufacturers like DJI, which alone controls around 80% of the commercial quadcopter market in the US. Those drones are ineligible for US military procurement due to their Chinese origins.
However, Ukraine has rapidly developed a domestic drone production industry to meet Kyiv’s wartime needs and overcome limitations on the availability of Western-supplied precision munitions.
F-Drones was founded in 2023 and has rapidly become a key supplier to Ukrainian forces.
The company’s two marquee products are the F10 strike drone and the F7 drone interceptor.
The F10 uses a conventional X-configuration quadrotor, combined with an FPV camera and explosive warhead. F-Drones describes the F10 as intended for “high-impact strike missions against armoured vehicles, equipment, and personnel”.
While offensive drones are an important focus for the Pentagon, F-Drones’ F7 interceptor will perhaps fill an even more critical niche.
Washington and other Western governments have struggled to field effective defences against massed waves of cheap, one-way attack munitions like the Iranian-made Shahed-136, which can be fired in large numbers to strike targets hundreds of miles away.
Shahed drones are believed to have been used in the Iranian strike that destroyed multiple US aircraft on the ground in Saudi Arabia, including several Boeing KC-135 tankers and a Boeing E-3 Sentry in March. Multiple US bases in the region have also sustained heavy damage from one-way attack strikes.
Critically, these “kamikaze drones” cost less than $50,000 each and can be mass-produced, making it impractical to defeat them with expensive, complex air defence missiles.
Platforms like the F7 offer a solution to the counter-UAS problem.
They apply the same principles of low-cost, versatility and mass production that began with offensive FPV drones and apply them to a defensive system.
A number of Ukrainian companies are producing drone interceptors, including Wild Hornets, SkyFall and F-Drones. Their various systems have all settled on a similar configuration: a tail-sitting, X-wing shape with four rear-facing propeller motors.
The X-wing design allows for a high degree of agility while in flight, giving each FPV interceptor the ability to manoeuvre around its target for multiple passes and to strike from an optimum angle.
The F7 is optimised for high-speed engagements, according to F-Drones, with the ability to reach up to 200kt (350km/h). Each weapon is equipped with daylight and thermal imaging cameras and a GPS-denied inertial navigation system.
“The system also supports remote control from long distances, enabling operators to conduct interceptions from hundreds of kilometres away,” F-Drones says.
The operational range of the F7 is officially listed at 21.5nm (40km), with one-way flights as far as 43nm having been logged. Each interceptor has a flight ceiling of more than 29,000ft.
The F7 also boasts an automatic terminal guidance system, which allows it to hone in on a designated target without direct operator input into the flight controls.
“During the terminal phase of flight, the pilot controls only the speed, while all other functions are performed automatically,” the Ukrainian defence ministry says.
An integrated explosive warhead can be detonated either by impact or command initiated by the operator when in proximity to a target.
The initial US prototype contract with F-Drones and its US arm UDD comes via the Pentagon’s $1 billion Drone Dominance programme and will cover the acquisition of 2,000 FPV systems. The new factory will be sited in Lucas County, Ohio, home to the industrial city of Toledo.
“This investment strengthens our economy and the manufacturing base that our nation’s security depends on,” says Ohio governor Mike DeWine.
Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, who represents the area in the US House of Representatives, says the Ohio state government and congressional delegation undertook “sustained engagement” to compel F-Drones to locate in the Rust Belt state.
Although Ohio has long been home to jet engine manufacturer GE Aerospace, the state is emerging as a hub for a new generation of defence and aerospace companies.
Start-up Anduril Industries, which was recently selected to provide one of the US Air Force’s first generation of autonomous tactical jets, plans to assemble that FQ-44 fighter at its new Arsenal-1 factory in Ohio.
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