Ukrainian drone manufacturers join Pentagon UAV programme worth US$1.1bn

Ukrainian FPV drone manufacturers General Cherry and Ukrainian Defense Drones Tech Corp have joined a US Department of War programme to supply mass-produced low-cost unmanned aerial vehicles for US forces.

Source: Defense Express, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The programme, called Drone Dominance, has a budget of US$1.1 billion and envisages testing solutions from 25 manufacturers at the initial stage of the competition. The Ukrainian companies are currently taking part in the first phase.

The tests will begin on 18 February at the Fort Benning military base and will continue until the end of March. The evaluation will be carried out by the US military. Following the results of the first phase, 12 companies are expected to be selected.

General Cherry said that the admission of a Ukrainian manufacturer to the Drone Dominance is "an important signal of recognition of Ukraine's real combat experience, trust in Ukrainian engineering and production teams, and confirmation that our solutions are competitive at the global level, not only in the conditions of the war in Ukraine".

Marko Kushnir, communications director of General Cherry, told Defense Express that in order to enter the first stage, companies had to submit a detailed technical description of an unmanned system, confirm compliance with the NDAA requirements and US legislation, disclose ownership structure and supply chains, prove the ability to carry out mass production within tight deadlines and pass a preliminary selection among hundreds of companies from around the world.

He added that the format of the programme involves multi-level technical selection.

General Cherry will present a system that combines reconnaissance, target detection and target engagement tasks.

Quote from Kushnir: "It is not about a single drone as a 'platform', but about a full-fledged system that includes the unmanned aerial vehicle itself, a control and communications system, and an integrated payload (warhead). The key focus of the programme is scalability, low cost, ease of use and a resilient supply chain, and our solution is adapted precisely to these requirements."

Details: Meanwhile, the company stressed the importance of ensuring fulfilment of orders for Ukraine's defence forces. It explained that participation in the Drone Dominance involves localising part of production and final assembly in the United States or allied countries, as well as building a separate compliant supply chain for US contracts.

Production flows for Ukraine and for international customers are planned to be separated, meaning that fulfilment of contracts for the defence forces of Ukraine will not compete with international projects.

The company also said that international contracts are expected to strengthen production capacity, investment and the technological base, while Ukraine's combat experience will be used for further scaling up production.

Background:

• It was previously reported that General Cherry had integrated a cruise control system into its radio-controlled platforms to stabilise flight and reduce operator workload.
• The company has also recently developed a new interceptor drone, the General Cherry AIR Speed. It is built on an eight-inch frame, which has reduced its size and improved manoeuvrability and reaction speed in the air. According to the stated specifications, its maximum speed is 236 km/h.

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