UForce and American ReconCraft to launch production of Magura drones in the US

The Ukrainian-British company UForce has signed a memorandum of understanding with the American company ReconCraft. Under the agreement, Magura maritime drones will be manufactured in the US, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The drones will be manufactured at ReconCraft’s facilities in Oregon and South Carolina. The companies plan to produce from hundreds to thousands of boats per year.

American company ReconCraft was founded in 2008 and specialises in boats for law enforcement and the military. UForce, meanwhile, is one of Ukraine’s largest manufacturers of maritime drones, which became a unicorn this year. In addition to USVs, the company manufactures ground and aerial drones.

The head of the industry association, Denys Kanin, has said that several Ukrainian companies are simultaneously in the process of obtaining export licences. This concerns both joint production and the sale of products.

Meanwhile, it has become known that Ukraine and the US have signed a statement of intent that allows the export of Ukrainian drones for military testing in America. This was reported by Radio Svoboda correspondent Alex Raufoglu, citing sources.

According to him, this statement lays the groundwork for future cooperation between the countries in the field of drones. Most likely, this concerns the Drone Deal, which will allow Ukraine to export military technologies to the US and create joint ventures with American companies. In May, the governments of the two countries prepared a draft memorandum setting out the terms of a possible defence agreement.

As a reminder, the Ukrainian company F-Drones has already sent 2,000 drones to the US under a contract it received as one of the winners of the first phase of the American Drone Dominance programme. According to the manufacturer, this was the first case in which Ukraine officially permitted the export of finished Ukrainian-made combat drones.