US secretly invests USD 1.5 billion in production of drones in Ukraine – NYT

The administration of President Joe Biden has declassified information that the U.S., in addition to technical support, has spent significant funds, in particular USD 1.5 billion, to increase the production of drones in Ukraine.

This is reported by The New York Times.

Thus, a significant part of American assistance to the Ukrainian military, including billions of dollars in missiles, air defense systems, tanks, artillery and training, has been announced to the public. At the same time, another part of the support remains largely in the shadows.

According to American officials, it included helping Ukraine develop a new generation of drones, which, according to American officials, will revolutionize the way wars are fought.

It is indicated that in addition to technical support, the U.S. has spent significant funds, in particular USD 1.5 billion sent in September last year, to increase the production of drones in Ukraine.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the support has “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 statement on Thursday.

The U.S. has allocated funds to support drone manufacturers and purchase spare parts for them. The United States has also sent intelligence personnel to Ukraine to help develop the program, according to people familiar with the matter.

CIA Director William Burns also hinted in an interview this week about his agency’s support for the drone program in Ukraine.

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

Sullivan said the drone effort began after the first counteroffensive by the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the fall of 2022.

Sullivan said the effort accelerated in preparation for Ukraine’s second counteroffensive. U.S. officials said the 2023 counteroffensive was a hard lesson. Russian drones attacked tanks and armored vehicles provided by the United States and Europe as they tried to clear minefields.

After the counteroffensive, officials said, they quickly increased support for Ukrainian drone manufacturers, building on Ukraine’s efforts to develop its own industry. In addition to financial assistance, the Biden administration has worked to build ties between U.S. technology companies and Ukrainian drone manufacturers.

The Pentagon last fall allocated USD 800 million to build drones in Ukraine, which was used to buy drone components and finance drone manufacturers. During Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House in September, President Biden announced that another USD 1.5 billion would be poured into Ukraine’s drone industry.

U.S. officials said Thursday that they believe the investment has made Ukrainian drones more effective and lethal. They noted that Ukrainian naval drones have destroyed a quarter of russia’s Black Sea Fleet and that drones deployed on the front lines have helped slow russia’s advance in the east of Ukraine.

Sullivan added that the drive to build Ukraine’s drone industry has yielded “invaluable lessons” that the Biden administration has begun to integrate into America’s own defense industry.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, in November, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to increase orders for Ukrainian drones for military operations.

In December, the Ministry of Defense codified and approved for use in the Defense Forces of Ukraine a new Ukrainian-made SOVA 10 UAV.

Earlier, Ukrainian missile-powered Magura V5 surface drones set a record by for the first time ever destroying two russian Mi-8 helicopters in the Black Sea.