EU seals deal with Ukraine to scale up drone production

KYIV — The European Union and Ukraine have signed a deal to set up joint projects and scale up drone production, European ‌Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.The initiative is meant to combine the EU’s industrial base with Ukraine’s world-leading expertise, gained over more than four years of fighting against Russian troops.”We need to combine our strengths,” von der Leyen said in a speech in Kyiv ​at a ceremony to mark the country’s Statehood Day. “This ​deal will bring together Ukrainian ingenuity and Europe’s industrial ⁠scale.””The knowledge you have gained on ​how to work drone and anti-drone systems is truly unique,” von der ‌Leyen ⁠said, addressing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.Funding will come from two EU sources: the €90 billion support loan to Ukraine and the roughly €10 billion still available in the SAFE defense program.”We are making 10 million drones a year – 10 million. And it will be 20 million,” Zelensky said during the ceremony in the capital’s Saint Michael’s Square. “For the first time, Ukraine has fundamentally changed the battlefield.””In Europe, we already have huge technological and industrial capacity that can be deployed. And we have safe and secure production sites that can help to scale up,” von der Leyen said in her speech.”But we do not have that battle-tested knowledge and expertise that Ukraine has forged. So the point I am making is that we need to combine our strengths. Together, we can work on joint production.”Ukraine has developed a highly sophisticated ​drone industry ⁠after having only limited expertise in the sector when Russia invaded its smaller neighbor in February 2022.Drones have been crucial in helping Kyiv overcome its manpower disadvantage and launch long-range strikes against Russian oil refineries, triggering a fuel crisisZelensky has traveled widely ⁠to promote ​drone deals, particularly in the Middle ​East, where Gulf countries have been keen to tap into Ukrainian expertise to ​counter Iranian strikes.Until now, several countries have signed individual deals with Ukraine to tap into its technological ingenuity. The agreement endorsed on Wednesday adds a broader dimension by making the partnership available to all 27 member states.An important innovation is the option to build and store the drones across the bloc’s territory, rather than in Ukraine, as a way to provide them with a haven against Russian strikes.But the storage will be short-term due to the rapid evolution that the technology is experiencing. After two to three months, the drones will be transferred to Ukraine or to member states interested in reinforcing their capabilities, particularly on the EU’s eastern flank.It remains to be seen how Moscow, whose actions against EU countries have become increasingly provocative, will respond to the plan.As a second step, the Commission intends to expand the deal with Ukraine to the production of ballistic and anti-ballistic missile systems, but this is still far in the future.”Now is the time to invest in Ukraine, to invest in Europe,” von der Leyen said, “and to invest in our common security and common future.”