Bloomberg: Ukrainian Drones Are Breaking Into The NATO Market
4- 11.11.2025, 15:08
- 3,036
Kiev can do more than the Alliance combined.
Ukraine, which in three years of war has emerged as a world leader in combat drone production, is now taking on a new front - economic.
Ukrainian drone manufacturers are looking to enter NATO markets, offering battle-tested technology to allies and partnering to set up production facilities in Europe, writes Bloomberg.
One of those behind the movement is engineer Alexander Grachev, founder of TSIR. In Finland, he is building a production line for Ukrainian drones amid tranquil forests that remind him of Siberia, where his parents sent him as a child after the Chernobyl disaster.
Now, Grachev says, his mission is to "inflict maximum damage on the Russian economy" while creating the basis for joint production with NATO countries.
"I'm aiming for two things: to ensure a stable supply of drones for the frontline by moving some production outside the war, and to find Western funding for scaling," he says.
Ukraine is a drone superpower
According to RAND analyst Michael Bohnert, Ukraine now produces about 4 million drones a year:
"Probably more than all the NATO countries combined right now."
In comparison, the U.S. produces about 100,000 military drones annually.
From FPV drones costing a few hundred dollars to long-range vehicles capable of striking deep into Russia, the range of Ukrainian developments covers almost all types of modern unmanned systems.
"In 2022, Ukraine had only 10 drone manufacturers. Now there are 500," said Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Fedorov at a conference in Lviv.
"You are not on the world market of defense technologies if your product has not been tested in Ukraine."
Ukrainian companies have learned to improve their models extremely quickly - in a matter of weeks, while other countries need months or years.
"Ukrainian drones are simply more powerful," says Spanish engineer Conrad Iturbe, who helps Ukrainian units adapt commercial drones to combat conditions. They are designed to be repaired "in the field" and can be easily combined with parts from other models.
But the main problem is a lack of funds. The state is unable to buy all the drones the industry could produce, so exporting to NATO is not only a strategic but also a financial salvation. Iturbe says:
"Exports will give companies cash flow, which they will then invest in improving drones for Ukraine itself."
Europe is learning from Kiev
After a series of incursions by Russian drones into the airspace of Poland, Finland and Denmark, Europe has begun to realize its vulnerability to new threats.
The EU is already developing a joint project for a "wall of drones," a surveillance and defense system coordinated with Kiev. Ukrainian companies are receiving requests for cooperation from a number of European states that want to develop their own production and get the Ukrainians' combat experience.
London-based Ukrainian-born lawyer Alexandr Khomyak, founder of Drone Space Labs, proposes a new approach - a subscription for NATO countries to use drones.
"Drones are not like tanks: you can't build a warehouse and store a million pieces - tomorrow they will be obsolete. You need to create flexible production facilities," he says.
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