Ukraine will start producing combat drones in Germany for the first time
15 December 2025 14:13
A Ukrainian defense startup has signed a €100 million deal to produce drones in Germany. Over the next year, Kyiv plans to sign a dozen more such agreements to significantly increase production, start selling its products to Western allies, and reduce its dependence on China.
Founded in 2022, Frontline will open a plant in southern Germany in partnership with Bavarian reconnaissance drone manufacturer Quantum Systems, the Financial Times reports, "Komersant Ukrainian".
The joint venture will receive intellectual property and combat experience from the Ukrainian side, and automated production capabilities, a European supply chain, and links to the Bundeswehr and the armed forces of other European countries from the German side. The €40 million plant is expected to produce 10,000 drones in 2026, which will be shipped to Ukraine. After that, the companies will have the right to export the drones to other countries.
According to Quantum’s Matthias Lena, who will head the joint venture, the company is already in talks with the Bundeswehr to supply it with new drones. Oleksandr Kamyshyn, a freelance strategic advisor to Ukraine’s president, told the FT that the joint venture is to be the first of 10 such projects to be implemented in Europe over the next year.
Ukraine is seeking to establish arms production in Europe to protect its businesses from Russian attacks and to attract Western money to develop its military-industrial complex. Drone and missile manufacturer Fire Point has already agreed to open a plant in Denmark. MITS Capital, an investment fund that attracts Western funds to Ukrainian military technologies, is negotiating a joint venture there with three other Ukrainian companies: Tencore, a manufacturer of ground drones, Infozahyst, a radio intelligence company, and Unwave, a manufacturer of electronic warfare equipment.
The Frontline and Quantum Systems project will be funded by the German government as part of the program to support Ukraine’s military-industrial complex at the expense of its Western allies. The German plant will produce the Lens, a small multifunctional drone that Ukrainian troops use to deliver supplies to the front line and to drop bombs on Russian targets. In Ukraine, Frontline produces a few hundred drones a month, but plans to set up mass production to replace Chinese drones and components that are currently the backbone of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ unmanned forces.
