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Drones: Industry & Defence
7JUN

Two Ukrainian firms enter Pentagon gauntlet

2 min read
11:27UTC

Two Ukrainian drone makers joined the Pentagon's Drone Dominance Phase 2 field, one partnering Phase 1 leader Skycutter, as Stage 1 opens at Camp Grayling, Michigan.

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TechnologyDeveloping

Two Ukrainian drone manufacturers entered the field for the Pentagon Drone Dominance Phase 2 Gauntlet, confirmed on 3 June, with one named as a partner of Phase 1 leader Skycutter 1. Drone Dominance is the Pentagon's $1.1bn programme to buy more than 300,000 one-way attack drones by 2027; the Gauntlet is its competitive proving ground, with Stage 1 at Camp Grayling, Michigan.

Skycutter, the London-based startup, won Phase 1 outright flying a Ukrainian-built Shrike 10 Fibre FPV (first-person-view) drone. The two new Ukrainian entrants extend that combat lineage directly into the US field. They arrive as the programme stops looking startup-only: Northrop Grumman was named a preferred payload provider in May, tasked with arming the FPV fleet .

Northrop's payload role reshapes what a startup win is worth, because whoever defines the common payload shapes every airframe that follows, regardless of who builds it. For the Ukrainian firms, the question is whether competing inside the programme secures a procurement foothold that survives a future ceasefire, or whether the primes integrate them on the primes' terms.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

The Pentagon is running a competition called Drone Dominance to find the best attack drones for the US military. Phase 1 was won by a company called Skycutter, a London startup that used a Ukrainian-built drone platform. In Phase 2, the competition has expanded and now includes two Ukrainian companies directly. Stage 1 of Phase 2 runs 8-20 June at a military training base in Michigan called Camp Grayling. The drones are tested on realistic combat tasks. Whatever performs best at the lowest cost gets large procurement orders. The Ukrainian companies are competing alongside American firms and FPV racing specialists who have adapted their skills from the sport.

Deep Analysis
Root Causes

Two Ukrainian firms entering the Phase 2 field reflects a structural change in how the Pentagon perceives combat-validated foreign entrants. Phase 1's acceptance of Skycutter, a London-based firm using a Ukrainian-built platform, normalised the precedent. The Gauntlet's programme structure, administered by Joint Interagency Task Force 401, does not require US-origin hardware, only performance and security-of-supply assurances.

Skycutter's partnership with one of the Ukrainian entrants accelerates the integration: the Ukrainian firm brings combat-hardened FPV design experience while Skycutter provides the US regulatory familiarity and procurement relationships acquired in Phase 1.

Sources:Militarnyi·SEC / Red Cat Holdings·Unmanned Airspace
Mentions:Ukraine →Pentagon →United States →Northrop Grumman →Michigan →London →Neros →Camp Grayling →Drone Dominance →Skycutter →
First Reported In

Update #11 · Ukraine starts exporting the factory

Militarnyi· 7 Jun 2026
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Causes and effects
Caused by
Northrop banks two drone awards in one week
Northrop Grumman's payload-standard award (ID:3515) established the heritage-prime presence in Drone Dominance that frames two Ukrainian firms competing in Phase 2.
Occurred 18 May 2026
Read story →
This Event
Two Ukrainian firms enter Pentagon gauntlet
Ukrainian combat-iterated designs are now competing inside a flagship US procurement programme, not just supplying it from outside.
Different Perspectives
Denmark (host nation)
Denmark (host nation)
Denmark accepted Fire Point's Skrydstrup plant after committing to bilateral defence co-production at the B9 Nordic summit in May; the facility sits beside a Danish F-35 base, sharing security perimeters. NATO has published no legal guidance on whether hosting Ukrainian weapons production converts Denmark into a co-belligerent, leaving the host-state obligation unresolved.
Russian Ministry of Defence
Russian Ministry of Defence
Russia's 117% YoY drone-output rise in April, accelerating from a 68% full-year 2025 baseline, validates the FPV mass-production doctrine and hands Moscow a cleaner targeting argument for the Skrydstrup plant than any hidden production line offered; a Ukrainian weapons facility on NATO sovereign territory is a legitimate military target under the laws of armed conflict.
Baltic NATO states (Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania)
Baltic NATO states (Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania)
Latvia deployed mobile drone-intercept teams on 29 May using domestic Origin Robotics and Eraser interceptors, the first kinetic Baltic border response to Russia's 117% output surge. The Baltic states are the primary target market for Ukraine's ten EU export offices, giving them direct commercial access to combat-tested interceptors their own manufacturers have not yet matched.
Pentagon / Joint Interagency Task Force 401
Pentagon / Joint Interagency Task Force 401
Two Ukrainian entrants in Drone Dominance Phase 2 and Red Cat's SEC-filed STE partnership bring combat-iterated Ukrainian designs into US procurement without triggering Foreign Military Sale approvals; the programme's performance-scoring methodology does not require US-origin hardware. Northrop holding the Common UAS Payload standard means a heritage prime captures interface revenue regardless of which startup airframe wins.
Ukrainian defence industry (Fire Point / Spetstechnoexport)
Ukrainian defence industry (Fire Point / Spetstechnoexport)
Fire Point's Skrydstrup construction start and Spetstechnoexport's Red Cat partnership execute Zelensky's 13 May Bucharest proposal: converting wartime production surplus into a state export apparatus, independent of US approval chains. For Ukraine, embedded manufacturing on NATO soil protects propellant supply from Russian strikes while generating hard currency the war effort needs.
Chinese drone manufacturers (DJI, Autel)
Chinese drone manufacturers (DJI, Autel)
Autel's Ralls Corp Fifth Amendment filing and DJI's Ninth Circuit quantification of USD 1.56 billion in 2026 losses are parallel constitutional attacks on a classified-evidence exclusion mechanism; neither company can contest the intelligence allegations directly, so both are betting on due-process doctrine to reopen the FCC authorisation route.