Happy Ukraine’s Aviation Day! An often overlooked fact is that Ukraine has vast potential in both civil and military aviation. The Ukrainian engineering school not only keeps the country’s aircraft fleet operational but also actively develops new directions—from traditional aviation to unmanned systems and missile technology—showing remarkable adaptability under wartime conditions.
Moreover, Ukraine has every chance to become a global hub for so-called “hybrid aviation,” where the capabilities of aircraft, drones, and missile systems are integrated, all operating on shared principles of guidance, control, and management.
In this edition:
DELTA, UAVs, and Real Combat: Lessons from Ukraine for Allies;
Joint Initiatives: the Danish Model;
Ukraine’s Aviation Industry: A Potential for Leadership;
War-Driven: The Rise of Ukrainian Defence Tech and the Private Industry Behind It (summary of the report);
and 20+ other key developments.
Thank you for reading and supporting my work!
Foreign Military Aid and Direct Purchases
On August 28, the United States announced the approval of $825 million sale of 3,350 Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) air-launched missiles and related equipment to Ukraine. According to a statement from the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), Kyiv will finance the purchase with support from Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway, along with a loan guarantee provided by the United States.
Defense Express notes that ERAM is the name of a project, but under this umbrella, there are actually two separate air-launched missiles intended for tactical aircraft. According to the approval, the main contractors will be Zone 5 Technologies and CoAspire. The indicative unit cost of a missile under the ERAM project is estimated at $246,200, though this figure represents only an average.
That price is relatively modest, given that the missiles are designed to have a range of up to 400 km. These are not large weapons, however, as ERAM missiles are required to fall into the 500-pound (227 kg) class, meaning they are unlikely to carry an exceptionally powerful warhead. Overall, both missiles from Zone 5 Technologies and CoAspire are expected to have fairly similar characteristics: a warhead of comparable weight, a range of about 400 km, speeds from 0.6 Mach, and high accuracy.
Militarnyi reported that the production of the ERAM for Ukraine began in the spring of 2025. According to WSJ, citing anonymous U.S. government sources, the missiles are expected to arrive in Ukraine in about six weeks.
The Trump administration made no official announcement regarding long-range strike policies, and it remains unclear whether Ukraine will be permitted to use ERAM missiles against targets on Russian territory.
On August 29, the US State Department approved the sale to Ukraine of equipment and support services for the Patriot air defence system, as well as Starlink satellite communication services, with a total value of US$329 million.
Additional developments:
🇫🇷 🇩🇪 France and Germany will provide more air-defense hardware for Ukraine after “massive” Russian airstrikes in recent days, Macron and Merz said in a joint statement.
🇩🇪 Germany delivered an additional IRIS-T SLM medium-range surface-to-air missile battery to Ukraine, raising the total number of such systems in service to eight. The IRIS-T SLM forms part of Ukraine’s layered defense network that also includes Patriot systems, NASAMS, and locally developed solutions.
🇩🇪 In 2024, the German government approved arms exports worth €12.83 billion, setting a new record. This marked the highest volume of military exports in the country’s history. Ukraine topped the list of recipient countries, accounting for €8.15 billion. The actual volume of weapons delivered last year also reached record levels, with Ukraine alone making up 64% of all approved German arms exports. Specifically, Ukraine received 306 armored combat vehicles, 316 missiles and missile systems, 78 battle tanks, and 11 large-caliber artillery systems.
🇧🇪 Belgium will provide €100 million this year for the purchase of American weapons for Ukraine. The funds will be allocated under NATO’s new initiative, the Priority Ukraine Requirements List (PURL).
🇺🇦 Ukraine aims to secure at least $1 billion a month from its allies to purchase American-made weapons, Zelensky said.
DELTA, UAVs, and Real Combat: Lessons from Ukraine for Allies
But Ukraine has much to teach its allies. The Ukrainian NGO Aerorozvidka, which contributes to the creation and implementation of network-centric and robotic military capabilities for the Security Forces, shared its experience participating in NATO exercises, such as Hedgehog 2025, held in Estonia.