The US wants access to Ukrainian technology as part of a drone deal
A source at Bloomberg reported that the US Department of Defence has requested trials of a number of Ukrainian defence systems, including drones and electronic warfare systems. According to the source, Washington is considering the possibility of purchasing these products for military use, although no final agreement has yet been reached.
US interest stems from Ukraine’s combat experience gained during the war against Russia. Ukrainian forces are using new technologies and tactics that enable them to strike targets on Russian territory, halt the advance of Russian troops and attack oil infrastructure facilities.
During the talks, the Ukrainian side emphasised that its weaponry had already undergone extensive testing in combat conditions. At the same time, the US wishes to conduct its own tests of the systems with the participation of American military personnel.
Furthermore, the American side is interested in access to critical technologies and potentially to intellectual property rights, which would allow for the replication of Ukrainian developments.
Earlier this month, the US sent Kyiv a draft letter of intent, which provides for the testing of Ukrainian military products and the possible conclusion of contracts in the future. The document does not contain specific parameters or the scope of a potential agreement.
Ukraine’s Ambassador to the US, Olga Stefanishyna, stated that a draft framework document has already been prepared and is currently under consideration by both sides at various institutional levels.
“We are committed to mutually beneficial cooperation that will strengthen the capabilities of our armed forces,” she noted.
Ukrainian drone technology has received positive reviews in the US. US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll described the operational system of the Ukrainian drone network as “absolutely incredible”.
“It fully integrates every drone, every sensor and every fire platform into a single network. We don’t have anything like that,” Driscoll said during a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
According to a defence industry representative, the draft document resembles not so much a traditional technology transfer agreement as a mechanism for the US military to test and evaluate Ukrainian systems.
Bloomberg notes that the US may be interested in Ukrainian guidance technologies utilising artificial intelligence, GPS-free navigation, secure communication channels and combat experience in their application. The US side may also use Ukrainian systems as a benchmark for comparison with its own developments.
The US is also interested in purchasing a range of Ukrainian military developments as part of the modernisation of its own army following the experience of the war with Iran, which made extensive use of unmanned technologies.
Following the outbreak of the conflict between the US and Iran, Ukraine offered Washington and the Gulf states its military developments and interceptor drones. In return, Kyiv expected to receive Patriot air defence systems and missiles for them.
In April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine had concluded bilateral agreements with several Gulf countries regarding financial, energy and technical support in exchange for assistance in countering Iranian drone attacks. He did not provide any details of these agreements.
