Defender Media reported that two Ukrainian drone makers were bidding for Pentagon contracts. In fact, there is a third one

On 5 February, Defender Media reported that Ukrainian companies General Cherry and Ukrainian Defence Drone Tech had been included in the Pentagon’s list of 25 drone manufacturers selected for the first stage of the Drone Dominance programme. It has now emerged that an alliance including the Ukrainian project Drone Fight Group (DFG), founded by Vladyslav Plaksin, will also compete in the selection process.

DFG itself is not listed among the vendors approved by the US Department of War for participation in the programme. However, the list does include the US company Anno.ai, with which Plaksin announced a partnership today. The third partner in the alliance is the US fund Ondas Capital, which previously stated its intention to invest up to $11 million in DFG.

Anno.ai is a US startup developing AI solutions, including drone autonomy. Defender Media found no evidence of any prior connection between the project and Ondas Group. At the same time, the X account YoYInvestor claims that Ondas is linked to three separate participants in the 25-company “Drone Dominance” selection.

About Drone Dominance

The Pentagon launched the Drone Dominance programme on 17 December last year. The US Department of War is prepared to spend more than $1 billion on the initiative.

The programme will run in four stages. Every six months, the Pentagon plans to select vendors and procure systems from the winners of the trials. Following the first stage, which begins today, the US plans to order 30,000 drones from the 12 best-performing companies.

Those 12 winners will be ranked and awarded different order volumes. For example, the first-ranked company could receive an order for 2,500 drones, while the twelfth-ranked supplier would supply 1,400 units. In stages two to four, both the number of drones and the number of participating companies may change.

The first stage of the programme kicks off today, 19 February.