U.S. and Ukraine Review Draft Memorandum on Possible Joint Drone Manufacturing Deal

U.S. and Ukraine have drafted a memorandum outlining the terms of a potential new defense deal, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

U.S. U.S. and to manufacture drones in joint ventures with American companies.

It is currently being reviewed by both sides at different institutional levels. "The United States is our strategic partner, and cooperation with the American side in strengthening defense capabilities remains a priority.

U.S. allies defend against Iranian-designed Shahed drones that Russia has also used to attack Ukraine's towns and cities. Ukrainian officials first pitched the idea of cooperation on drones to the White House in August 2025.

Over the last two months, Ukraine has signed defense agreements with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. "Nearly 20 countries are currently involved at various stages: 4 agreements have already been signed, and the first contracts under these agreements are now being prepared," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

Zelenskyy added in his Telegram post this week: "In addition to the Middle East and the Gulf, the South Caucasus, and Europe, we will soon launch this new security cooperation within the framework of Drone Deals with another part of the world as well.

A Ukrainian soldier held a Sting interceptor drone before a test flight on Feb. 22, 2026, in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine. Ukraine's National Security Council projects a defense production capacity of $55 billion in 2026.

Kyiv currently only has funds to buy around $15 billion worth of weapons this year, according to Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine's Ministry of Strategic Industries. One Ukrainian manufacturer plans to produce more than 3 million low-cost first-person-view military drones in 2026.

U.S. Built only 300,000 drones in 2025. Technology pioneered by Sine Engineering allows drones to fly without GPS guidance to evade signal-jamming. -Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund.

U.S. Alongside American military manufacturer Wilcox Industries. U.S. military contracts.

President Trump told Fox News in early March: "We don't need their help in drone defense. We know more about drones than anybody. " Zelenskyy has said the government will only relax broad military export restrictions after Kyiv can be certain that Ukrainian companies' intellectual property is protected and that they're still able to deliver sufficient supplies for Ukraine's defense amid the ongoing Russian invasion.

U.S. State Department and the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington to comment Tuesday on the potential deal taking shape, but there were no immediate responses. The Pentagon declined to comment.

CBS News reported all details of the draft memorandum and related defense activities.