The United States told how it supported the Ukrainian drone industry

17 January 17:49

The Biden administration has declassified the latest information on how it helped Ukraine develop new generations of drones. The New York Times wrote about this, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.

Representatives of the US administration said the day before that the United States had invested significant funds to help Ukraine launch and expand drone production.

“Much of the U.S. assistance to the Ukrainian army, including billions of dollars for missiles, air defense systems, tanks, artillery, and training, has been public. But other support has largely remained in the shadows. According to U.S. officials, this included helping Ukraine develop a new generation of drones and revolutionize the way it conducts warfare,” the newspaper writes.

For example, last fall, the United States provided Ukraine with $800 million in military aid specifically for the production of long-range drones.

Jake Sullivan, US National Security Advisor, believes that in general, such support has had a “real strategic impact” on the war.

“We’ve seen UAVs become increasingly important on the battlefield and they will be important for all future combat operations,” Jake Sullivan said in a statement on Thursday, referring to unmanned aerial vehicles.

The U.S. effort has included money to support drone manufacturers and purchase spare parts. The United States has also sent intelligence officers to Ukraine to help develop its program, according to people with knowledge of the effort.

In an interview this week, CIA Director William J. Burns indirectly mentioned his agency’s support for Ukraine’s drone program.

“I think our intelligence support has helped the Ukrainians protect themselves, and that’s not just in sharing intelligence, but in supporting some of the systems that have been so effective,” Mr. Burns said, as quoted by the New York Times.

Jake Sullivan said that efforts to scale up drone production began after the first Ukrainian counteroffensive in the fall of 2022, when the limits of Ukraine’s conventional capabilities became apparent.

According to Jake Sullivan, efforts accelerated in preparation for Ukraine’s second counteroffensive in 2023. That counteroffensive was a hard lesson, U.S. officials emphasize. Russian drones attacked U.S.- and European-supplied tanks and armored vehicles as they tried to avoid minefields.

In the wake of this counteroffensive, the United States quickly increased its support for Ukrainian drone manufacturers, building on Kyiv’s efforts to develop its own industry. In addition to financial assistance, the Biden administration has worked to establish links between American technology companies and Ukrainian drone manufacturers.

Jake Sullivan believes that the drive to build Ukraine’s drone industry has provided “invaluable lessons” that the US administration has begun to integrate into its own defense industry.

Василевич Сергій
Editor