Trump Discusses “Mega-Deal” with Ukraine on Arms Supplies in Exchange for Ukrainian UAVs

The United States and Ukraine are considering a deal that would allow the supply of American weapons in exchange for battle-tested Ukrainian drones.

The New York Times reported on this.

In an exclusive interview on Wednesday, Zelenskyi said that his latest talks with Trump focused on a breakthrough deal that would allow the United States and Ukraine to mutually strengthen their aerial technology, with the Ukrainian side offering its combat experience gained over three years of war with Russia.

“The American people need these technologies, they should be in your arsenal. I think this is a real mega-deal, mutually beneficial,” Zelenskyi said.

Volodymyr Zelenskyi is also in talks with other North Atlantic Alliance countries, such as Denmark, Norway and Germany, on this issue.

The media notes that this agreement could provide invaluable support to the US military, as industry experts and officials have repeatedly raised the alarm about the technological blind spot in the field of drones and unmanned warfare.

“We all know one thing: we are not giving the American soldier what he needs to survive in modern warfare. If we had to go to war tomorrow, would we have everything we need? No,” Trent Emeneker, project manager for autonomous systems at the Defense Innovation Unit, stated in an interview with the New York Times.

These problems became apparent during a four-day military exercise that the Pentagon held last month in Alaska. The soldiers repeatedly failed to destroy the prototype drones. Some of them failed to take off at all, and one of those that did take off hit the wrong target.

The potential “mega-deal” is being discussed amid a new order by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to simplify bureaucratic procedures in the production of American drones. The Pentagon memo emphasizes the need to catch up with the pace of military UAV production, which is growing rapidly around the world.

“While our adversaries have been producing millions of cheap drones, we have been mired in bureaucratic red tape. But that’s over,” Hegseth said.