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Drones: Industry & Defence
30APR

Two Ukrainian firms enter Pentagon gauntlet

2 min read
09:10UTC

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:DefenseScoop·Fortune·Scioto Post
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

DefenseScoop· 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
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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.
Led to
Pentagon orders 120 drones in five weeks
Skycutter's June Phase 2 entry alongside Ukrainian firms carried through to the final-stage cut.
Occurred 1 Jul 2026
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Different Perspectives
Procurement sceptics
Procurement sceptics
Two identically sized IDIQs to different primes within seven weeks, and a five-nation pact where one partner moves weeks ahead of the rest, could just as easily read as an industrial base still improvising vendor mix as a deliberate hedging doctrine. Neither ceiling appears sized against a validated requirement yet.
Chinese component suppliers
Chinese component suppliers
FCC and Pentagon-level restrictions on Chinese-origin airframes and motors have progressively excluded DJI-linked suppliers from federal counter-drone catalogues, narrowing the field JIATF-401 and Gauntlet II can buy from to a short list of certified domestic bidders. Beijing reads the exclusions as protectionism dressed as security policy.
Quantum Systems
Quantum Systems
Blackstone, Airbus, Advent and Noteus reportedly priced the Munich drone maker at $8 billion, more than double its prior mark, on the strength of 19,000 Ukraine missions rather than confirmed revenue. It is betting production capacity, not current sales, is what buyout capital is now paying for.
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Britain released the first LEAP effector money three weeks after its defence secretary quit over the size of the drone budget, splitting £3.16 million across three small firms rather than one contractor. It expects the other four LEAP partners to follow its pace, not set their own.
JIATF-401
JIATF-401
The task force handed AeroVironment a $500 million counter-drone ceiling identical to Perennial Autonomy's from seven weeks earlier, while its own Gauntlet II red team prepares to attack the drones the winners of that sprint will build. It expects to keep several qualified suppliers warm rather than certify one.
DroneShield
DroneShield
DroneShield appointed retired Rear Admiral Lee Goddard as an independent director from 1 July, its second board move since founder Oleg Vornik's April exit. The ASIC probe into November's disclosures and share sales stays open, so the admiral steadies the story without closing the file.