Two Ukrainian drone manufacturers are bidding for Pentagon contracts. What lies ahead for them

Ukrainian companies General Cherry and Ukrainian Defense Drone Tech have been included in the list of 25 drone manufacturers selected by the Pentagon to participate in the first phase of the Drone Dominance program.

Now, the participants’ products will be tested, the 12 best will be selected, and contracts will be signed with them to supply test batches. Defender Media spoke with General Cherry to learn more about the program, which is intended to “pump up” the US Army.

About the program

The Drone Dominance program was launched on December 17 last year. The goal is to quickly and extensively arm American troops with inexpensive drones. The Department of War is prepared to spend more than a billion dollars on this.

The program consists of four stages. Every six months, the Pentagon plans to select suppliers and purchase systems from the winners of the tests. Based on the results of the first stage, they want to order 30,000 drones from the 12 best companies.

These 12 test winners will be ranked and will receive different numbers of orders: for example, the US is ready to buy 2,500 drones from the winner, while 1,400 drones from the 12th place winner. In stages 2-4, the number of drones, as well as the number of participating companies, will change.

More technical details for those who want to participate are available on the program website.

Why is this important for Ukrainian companies

General Cherry is one of the largest manufacturers of FPV and interceptor drones in Ukraine. Meanwhile, there is no public information about Ukrainian Defense Drones Tech Corp. Kyiv Independent writes that there is no information about it in the corporate registers of the US, Ukraine, or the EU.

“First of all, this is clear recognition of us as a company on the international stage. Second, it is recognition for Ukrainian military engineering. And third, it is an opportunity to cooperate with a new end user – the US military,” General Cherry comments on the benefits of the program. They also add that this is an opportunity to gain access to new developments and conditions.

General Cherry is preparing to present a comprehensive solution that “combines the tasks of reconnaissance, target detection, and target destruction.” The system includes a drone, a control and communication system, and a combat unit, writes Defense Express. Details about the product are not disclosed by the company for security reasons, they added to Defender Media.

The Drones Dominance program will give preference to production and assembly in the United States or allied countries. Therefore, if successful, the Ukrainian manufacturer plans to localize part of its production and final assembly in the United States or in a partner allied jurisdiction. The expected investments in the construction of production facilities are not being disclosed.

General Cherry explains that contracts for the Ukrainian Armed Forces and international partners are distributed across different production flows. They also add that despite limited arms exports, they share approaches and expertise with the Ministries of Defense of European countries and the US.