Ukrainian drone manufacturers have been included in the list of companies that the Pentagon has admitted to the first stage of the Drone Dominance Programme, an American programme for the accelerated procurement of inexpensive strike drones. Twenty-five companies have been invited to participate in Phase I (Gauntlet). The list includes General Cherry Corp (a well-known Ukrainian manufacturer under the General Cherry brand) and Ukrainian Defense Drones Tech Corp.
During the evaluation, military operators will test suppliers’ systems and compare them in practical application scenarios. The first phase of Gauntlet will start on 18 February and is expected to be completed in early March. After that, the American side plans to place orders for the supply of prototypes worth approximately $150 million. Deliveries are expected to begin shortly after the orders are announced and continue for the next five months. The Drone Dominance Programme is designed to have four phases with total funding of $1.1 billion.
The US Department of War has announced plans to deploy hundreds of thousands of disposable strike drones ready for combat use by 2027, with each subsequent stage reducing the unit price and increasing production volumes.
