Germany is financing the purchase of 50,000 strike FPV drones for Ukraine worth about 90 million euros. Part of the drones have already been handed over to the Ukrainian side, and the rest are planned to be delivered by the end of the year. This is reported by Reuters citing a knowledgeable source, reports UNN.
Details
These are Shrike strike drones produced by the Ukrainian company SkyFall. The drones are equipped with software from the American defense technology company Auterion.
The technology allows the drones to autonomously track and engage moving targets in the final stage of flight.
Auterion CEO Lorenz Meier confirmed that the contract provides for the supply of 50,000 drones and is estimated at about 90 million euros, or $103 million.
According to him, part of the drones have already been handed over to the government of Ukraine, and the rest are to be delivered during 2026.
SkyFall confirmed Germany's participation in financing the purchase but refused to disclose details of the contract.
The German Ministry of Defense did not comment on the information, citing operational security considerations. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine also refrained from commenting.
As Reuters notes, this order is one of the largest known purchases of strike drones for Ukraine financed by a Western government.
Context
The Shrike drone has been used by the Ukrainian military since 2023. The Shrike 10-F model, which SkyFall produces jointly with the British company Skycutter, took first place in the initial stage of the Pentagon competition.
The competition is being conducted as part of a U.S. program worth $1.1 billion, which involves the purchase of hundreds of thousands of one-way attack drones.
According to Auterion, the company, together with various manufacturers, plans to help deliver a total of 100,000 drones to Ukraine within a year, the purchase of which is being financed by several Western states.
This volume includes 33,000 drones under a contract with the Pentagon worth $50 million. According to Meier, these drones have already been handed over to Ukraine.
Earlier, Great Britain stated that it would provide Ukraine with 150,000 drones within a year as part of a military support package worth £752 million.
Reminder
At the beginning of July, Ukraine and Germany signed an agreement on the joint production of BARS drones.