Second edition of my Ukraine Drone Brief. Here you’ll find the week’s most important developments distilled into a two-page report.
My first publication drove a record number of new subscribers and strong engagement, so I’m keeping this one free for one more week.
Read the first edition here, and don’t forget to choose the “VIP” tier when subscribing—future editions will be available exclusively to VIP members.
Aerial Drones
Russian sources report the emergence of a new Ukrainian fixed-wing strike drone, referred to as “Martian,” with a claimed cruising speed of up to 300 km/h. The system operates at low altitudes—up to 200 meters—and is designed to fly with a minimal acoustic signature. Ukrainian sources have neither confirmed nor denied the existence of such a system.
Ground Drones
Zelenskyy instructed the MoD to supply 50,000 UGVs to the military in 2026.
The commander of Ukraine’s Third Army Corps has set a goal for 2026: to withdraw one-third of infantry from the front line and replace them with unmanned ground systems (UGVs). The Third Army Corps is currently leading in the successful use of UGVs.
FPV drones remain the most significant risk to UGVs on the battlefield. Ukrainian Ratel Robotics has begun field testing its in-house developed net launchers mounted on UGVs.
Russia deploys at least 20 types of ground-based drones in its war against Ukraine. UGVs are now being actively deployed for logistics, casualty evacuation, reconnaissance, and direct fire support.
Naval Drones
Russians attempt to use uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) to conduct attacks along the Black Sea coast, including in the area around Odesa. However, such cases are not widespread.
C-UAS
Ukrainian General Cherry’s interceptor drones ranked first among domestic producers in enemy drone kills in March 2026. 11,473 hits were recorded over the course of the month, which is 5,800 more than in the previous period.
Ukraine’s MoD is procuring 8,000 Octopus interceptor drones. Production involves 29 licensed Ukrainian companies. Scaling became possible after the government opened the transfer of military technologies to domestic manufacturers. The UK supports this project.
Business Deals
New cooperation format announced: Drone Deals. Zelensky announced that Ukraine is set to open its arms exports via so-called “Drone Deals” with countries that have supported Ukraine. The first agreement was signed with the Netherlands.
Poland and Ukraine will develop a so-called “drone armada,” combining Polish financing with Ukraine’s battlefield experience. The project is expected to involve the European Defence Fund.
Ukraine and Estonia agreed to expand cooperation in joint weapons production, with emphasis on drone and counter-drone systems.
Ukraine and Norway agreed to jointly produce several thousand “mid-strike drones,” to be manufactured in Norway and delivered directly to Ukrainian defence forces.
Ukrainian TAF Industries and Finland’s Summa Defence signed an MoU to scale up drone production in Finland under the Build with Ukraine initiative
Japanese Terra Drone announced its second strategic investment in Ukraine’s fixed-wing interceptor drone company WinnyLab LLC. The first deal was with Ukraine’s Amazing Drones.
UK-based Tekever, Windracers, and Malloy Aeronautics have been selected as three primary suppliers in the UK Government’s largest-ever drone support package for Ukraine, which includes 120,000 drones.
Related Geopolitical Developments
Ukrainian drone producer TAF Industries received a request from a shipowner to deploy some of its experts equipped with anti-drone systems to the Middle East. Their task would be to provide a military consulting service to ensure the protection of a vessel while it transits the Strait of Hormuz.
Ukraine is sharing its experience in countering drones with Azerbaijan.
For years, Iran has closely studied Ukraine’s lessons in drone warfare, from the resilience of Ukrainian defence production to the use of 3D printers to mass-produce cheap drones.
During the Aurora 26 exercises in Sweden, Ukrainian military personnel led the training track on drone operations. Swedish air defence units were learning to use reconnaissance and strike UAVs and to protect themselves against explosive drops from attack drones.
Finland will join the international drone coalition to support Ukraine. As of January 2026, the coalition included 19 member states.
Useful Resources
Unmanned Systems Tracker - an open-source database making verified data on drone warfare, air defence, and military losses in Ukraine more accessible to researchers, journalists, and the general public.
If you want to read my 10-page-long newsletter with extra details, here is the most recent edition: “Drone warfare in Ukraine: Martian drones, swarms and mesh technology”.
Gotta start the week with the Drone Briefings. I like how Ukraine 🇺🇦 has very credible partners in these areas of innovation & development. I find it interesting how Iran has been studying how the Russians being using their equipment & how the Ukrainians have been responding.
Meanwhile the US has been sidelined due to nonsense 😒