The United States will need years to match Ukraine in military drone production. This year, Ukraine may produce between 6 and 7 million small FPV attack drones, while the Pentagon plans to order fewer than 200,000 by February.
This was stated in an interview with Reuters by Travis Metz, Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Defense Innovation Unit.
According to him, Ukraine produces about 500,000 small FPV attack drones per month. Meanwhile, under the $1.1 billion Drone Dominance program, the United States plans to order just under 200,000 drones in total by February.
Metz said the United States is at the earliest and most difficult stage of building its own drone industry. Once domestic manufacturing capacity is established, further scaling will be easier, he said.
The Pentagon has tightened requirements for military drone components. The updated requirements, introduced on July 23, call for a fully domestic U.S. supply chain for small unmanned aerial systems.
Drones from the 19 companies participating in the August trials must not contain prohibited components, including Chinese brushless motors and battery packs. Metz suggested that the vast majority of drones purchased during the previous phase may have contained Chinese-made motors.
Six Ukrainian companies have been invited to participate in the Gauntlet II trials at Fort Carson. To qualify for future contracts, they must localize production in the United States and establish joint ventures with American manufacturers.
F-Drones has partnered with Ohio-based Ukrainian Defense Drones, which has opened a facility near Toledo. General Cherry has agreed to establish a joint venture with Wilcox Industries in New Hampshire.
According to Metz, this model is intended to transform Ukrainian battlefield experience into American manufacturing capacity rather than dependence on imports.
