Ukraine hopes to sign ‘drone deals’ with seven Nato countries by end of year

A soldier from Ukraine’s Taifun unmanned aerial vehicle unit holds a Marsianin attack drone in Kharkiv region. Photograph: Nikoletta Stoyanova/Getty Images View image in fullscreen A soldier from Ukraine’s Taifun unmanned aerial vehicle unit holds a Marsianin attack drone in Kharkiv region. Photograph: Nikoletta Stoyanova/Getty Images Ukraine hopes to sign ‘drone deals’ with seven Nato countries by end of year Kyiv offers expertise on how to develop radar systems and ground stations as it turns from buyer to security provider Ukraine hopes to sign major defence deals with at least seven Nato countries by the end of the year, according to a top official, highlighting a new aspect of Kyiv’s foreign policy intended to show it can be a provider as well as a recipient of military hardware and expertise. Kyiv has signed “drone deals” with six countries in recent months. Three are Middle Eastern states, who became eager for Ukrainian support after being targeted with Iranian long-range Shahed drones after the US-Israeli war on Iran began in spring. These are the same weapons that have targeted Ukrainian cities relentlessly over the past four years. Azerbaijan has also signed an agreement with Kyiv, as well as the Nato members Latvia and Lithuania. “The initiative is called the drone deal, but it actually covers way more than just drones … what’s even more important is the experience and knowledge, the access to all the components that form the system here in Ukraine,” said Davyd Aloian, the deputy secretary of Ukraine’s security council and one of those in charge of the deals. The drone diplomacy began during Trump’s war on Iran, when Tehran attacked US allies across the region. Most of the Gulf countries turned out to be unprepared for the threat from drones, even though Iran was mostly using a much less sophisticated version of the Shahed than the upgraded models that Russia uses in Ukraine. View image in fullscreen An Iranian Shahed-136 attack drone, acquired from Ukraine, is displayed at a press conference in UK parliament in London in 2025. Photograph: Kin Cheung/AP In some cases, expensive Patriot missiles were used to bring down Shaheds, when cheap interceptor drones should be able to do the job – but only if combined with the required knowledge and experience. “The interceptor drone is only a drone. It doesn’t mean that you will be able to shoot down Shaheds with it,” said Aloian. “You need the drones, but you also need sub-components, sensors, ground stations and, even more importantly, the radar systems,” said Aloian. In the aftermath of the attacks, Aloian said one country in the region bought interceptor drones from a western company that had developed the product in cooperation with Ukrainian manufacturers. After the delivery, Kyiv received repeated requests to help with advice on how best to operate the systems. In the end, three Gulf countries – Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar – signed agreements with Ukraine. Kyiv offered the countries a