The Pentagon has acknowledged that Ukraine is ahead of the U.S. in drone production – Reuters
In 2026, the Ukrainian defense industry could produce between 6 and 7 million small FPV strike drones, which amounts to about 500,000 drones per month. The Pentagon notes that in terms of production scale, Ukraine is currently far ahead of the U.S., where the Drone Dominance program plans to order fewer than 200,000 similar drones by February 2027.
This was stated by Travis Metz, Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit.
Metz is responsible for developing the U.S. drone industry and has been leading the Pentagon’s Drone Dominance program since the fall of 2025. According to him, the U.S. is still in the initial and most difficult stage of this work, and its production volume is only a fraction of Ukraine’s.
“It’s much harder to go from zero to two hundred thousand,” Metz said.
He added that it will be easier to ramp up production once the U.S. has its own robust manufacturing base. At the same time, the Pentagon has implemented rules requiring military drones to be manufactured using American parts, which complicates a sharp increase in production. On July 23, the agency released an updated document on supply chain requirements, in which the government’s ultimate goal is described as a “fully domestic” supply chain for small unmanned aerial systems.
Metz acknowledged that components that are more difficult to source—particularly semiconductors—remain a much greater challenge for the U.S., even beyond the scope of the drone program. The next phase of Drone Dominance will be the Gauntlet II test at Fort Carson military base in Colorado in August 2026, where 19 companies will compete. No participating drone may contain prohibited parts—specifically Chinese brushless motors or batteries.
“It’s getting more and more difficult,” Metz said, adding that the vast majority of drones procured during the previous phase of the program likely had Chinese motors.
Despite this, the official expects that the U.S. will eventually catch up with the Ukrainian drone industry.
“I see no reason why we shouldn’t become world champions in this as well,” Metz said.
Six Ukrainian companies were invited to participate in the Gauntlet II trials—all of them have either already established joint ventures with American manufacturers or are moving toward doing so. According to Metz, Ukrainian companies must localize production in the U.S. to secure future orders. Reuters reports that this arrangement is designed to translate Ukrainian combat experience into U.S. manufacturing capabilities rather than creating a reliance on imports.
This news came to light as details emerged about when Zelenskyy will hold talks with Trump in the U.S.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the United Kingdom, where he will hold a series of meetings with British officials and Ukrainian military leaders.
As a reminder, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with the new British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, on July 27.
