Millions of drones for Ukraine: Canada plans to transfer a third of its production to the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Canada plans to transfer to Ukraine one-third of all drones that will be produced in the country, amid a major expansion of Canadian drone manufacturing. Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney stated this during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Calgary on September 10, reports UNN.

According to Carney, Canada expects to reach production of millions of drones over the next two years. Some of these products are planned to be transferred to Ukraine. In particular, Ottawa announced its intention to send one-third of all drones manufactured in Canada to the Ukrainian side.

It is important to understand that this does not concern an existing stockpile of drones, but rather the future expansion of Canadian production capacity. At the same time, exact annual production volumes, the number of drones Ukraine will receive, and the specific list of models have not yet been disclosed.

Canada is developing its own infrastructure for the production of unmanned and autonomous systems במסגרת the Defence Drone Initiative. The program provides for accelerating the development, testing, and serial production of such systems for the Canadian defence forces and other government agencies. One of the key elements of the program is the creation of a pool of Canadian manufacturers that will be able to participate in government procurement of unmanned systems. The initiative also includes the development of counter-drone technologies, communications and data-transfer systems, integration, and testing of unmanned platforms.

Canada is developing a separate area of cooperation directly with Ukraine. In May 2026, the countries agreed on the joint production of Ukrainian unmanned systems in Canada. For this purpose, a partnership was established between the Ukrainian defence technology company Airlogix and Canada's Sentinel Research and Development.

Details

During the September 10 meeting, Carney and Zelenskyy also discussed broader defence cooperation. Areas of cooperation include unmanned systems, counter-drone capabilities, ammunition, and artificial intelligence technologies.

Canada is also increasing its direct military assistance to Ukraine. In particular, Ottawa announced the allocation of 350 million Canadian dollars for air-defence systems for Ukraine, as well as additional financial support for Ukraine's energy sector ahead of the heating season.

Importantly, the statement about transferring one-third of drones produced in Canada concerns drones in general. There are currently no grounds to claim that this refers exclusively to combat or strike UAVs. The specific types of unmanned systems that will be included in future deliveries to Ukraine are to be determined during the implementation of the program.

Context

Ukraine is one of the world's largest centres for the practical use of unmanned systems in modern warfare. The Ukrainian military uses UAVs for reconnaissance, fire adjustment, target engagement, intercepting enemy drones, and other tasks. That is why Kyiv has actively developed international partnerships in recent years, enabling the production of Ukrainian defence technologies to be relocated to allied countries. The Canadian initiative envisages a practical transition from a model in which Canada primarily purchases ready-made weapons for transfer to Ukraine to long-term cooperation in defence production. For Ukraine, this potentially means creating additional production capacity abroad and gaining access to greater resources for manufacturing unmanned systems.

Reminder

As reported by UNN, Ukraine and Canada signed a declaration on a 100-year partnership.