Germany will fund the purchase of 50,000 Shrike attack drones for Ukraine
Germany is to fund the production and supply of 50,000 Shrike FPV strike drones to Ukraine. Reuters reported this, citing a source familiar with the details of the deal.
It is noted that this is one of the largest known purchases of drones for Ukraine by a Western country.
The Shrike drones are manufactured by SkyFall, one of Ukraine’s largest drone manufacturers. They are equipped with software from the American defence technology company Auterion, which enables them to autonomously track and engage moving targets during the final stage of flight.
Auterion’s CEO, Lorenz Mayer, confirmed the value of the contract to Reuters. According to him, it is worth around 90 million euros, with funding provided by one of the European countries. Some of the drones have already been handed over to the Ukrainian government, with the remainder due to be delivered by the end of this year.
SkyFall confirmed Germany’s involvement in funding the project, but declined to comment on the details of the procurement. The German Ministry of Defence did not provide any comments, citing operational security considerations. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence also declined to comment.
Reuters notes that Shrike drones have been in use in Ukraine since 2023. The Shrike 10 F variant, developed by SkyFall in collaboration with the British company Skycutter, recently came top in the initial phase of the Pentagon’s programme to procure strike drones, with a total value of $1.1 billion.
According to Lorenz Mayer, Auterion, together with various manufacturers, plans to supply Ukraine with a total of 100,000 drones this year, funded by several Western governments. This figure also includes 33,000 drones supplied under a $50 million Pentagon contract. He said these had already been delivered to Ukraine.
Last month, the UK also announced its intention to supply Ukraine with 150,000 drones this year as part of a £752 million funding package.
