US Acknowledges It Is Lagging Behind Ukraine in Drone Production

The United States has acknowledged that it is significantly behind Ukraine in the production of attack drones and is only beginning to build its own large-scale drone manufacturing industry.

Travis Metz, Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), announced this, Reuters reported.

According to Metz, Ukraine’s defence industry is expected to produce between 6 million and 6.5 million small FPV attack drones in 2026 – an average of about 500,000 drones every month.

For comparison, the $1.1 billion Drone Dominance program aims to procure just under 200,000 such drones by February 2027.

Metz also noted that the United States is still in the earliest – and most challenging – stage of building its own drone manufacturing base. In his words, starting production from scratch is far more difficult than scaling up existing manufacturing capacity.

The Pentagon is also tightening its localisation requirements. Under an updated policy adopted on 23 July, the ultimate goal is to establish a fully American supply chain for small unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

The new rules also require military drones to be built using US-made components. Drones equipped with Chinese-made brushless motors or batteries will not be allowed to participate in testing scheduled for August.

Metz acknowledged that securing a reliable supply of key components – particularly semiconductors – remains one of the biggest challenges facing the US drone industry.

According to the US official, six Ukrainian companies invited to participate in the Gauntlet II trials, scheduled to take place next month at Fort Carson, Colorado, have already signed or are preparing to sign joint venture agreements with US manufacturers.

For example, F-Drones is partnering with Ohio-based Ukrainian Defense Drones, while General Chereshnya is establishing a joint venture with Wilcox Industries.

The Pentagon official noted that localising production in the United States is a mandatory requirement for companies seeking future procurement contracts.

Ukraine recently signed its first bilateral agreement with the Pentagon to export Ukrainian-made drones to the United States.