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NYT: US reveals previously classified support for Ukrainian drone development

January 17, 2025

By Ukraine

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The Biden administration has declassified information about its previously secret support for Ukraine’s military drone industry, The New York Times reports. The program included financial support for drone manufacturers, component purchases, and deployment of US intelligence officials to Ukraine to assist in program development, according to people familiar with the effort.

Drone warfare innovations have become a defining feature of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. Unmanned vehicles of various sizes, operating in the air, on land, and at sea, play a central role, with technology advancing rapidly from both sides.

US officials disclosed that they made substantial investments helping Ukraine initiate and expand its drone production capabilities while fighting Russia’s larger and better-equipped military forces. This included $1.5 billion allocated last September to bolster Ukraine’s drone production. The officials said they subsequently accelerated support to Ukrainian drone makers, including Pentagon allocation of $800 million for drone components and manufacturer financing.

The support that “has largely gone on in the shadows” included “helping Ukraine develop a new generation of drones and revolutionize how wars are fought, according to US officials,” NYT says.

According to US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, the support had “a real strategic impact” on the war.

“We saw how UAVs were becoming increasingly central to the fight in Ukraine and will be central to all future fights,” Sullivan said in a 16 January statement.

In this week’s interview, CIA Director William J. Burns indirectly referenced his agency’s involvement, stating,

“I think our intelligence support has helped the Ukrainians to defend themselves, not just in the sharing of intelligence, but support for some of the systems that have been so effective.”

The initiative began following Ukraine’s first Ukrainian counteroffensive in fall 2022, as limitations in conventional capabilities became apparent, Sullivan said. Support increased during preparations for Ukraine’s 2023 counteroffensive, which achieved limited success, partly due to Russian drone operations against US and European-provided equipment.

According to NYT, American officials noted that these investments have enhanced Ukraine’s drone effectiveness, citing destruction of a quarter of Russia’s Black Sea fleet by sea drones and successful front-line drone deployment against Russian advances in eastern Ukraine.

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