KYIV — The U.S. State Department and Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Olha Stefanishyna have drafted a memorandum outlining the terms of a potential new defense agreement between the two countries. The proposed deal would allow Ukraine to export military technology to the U.S. and to manufacture drones in joint ventures with American companies.

Ukrainian officials first pitched the idea of cooperation on drones to the White House in August 2025. That same month, President Donald Trump privately lauded Operation Spiderweb, a Ukrainian drone attack behind Russian lines in which Ukrainian pilots remotely guided explosive drones from smuggled trucks to destroy dozens of Russian warplanes parked on tarmacs.

Trump has also publicly rebuffed Ukraine's efforts to supply counter-drone technology to the Middle East. "We don't need their help in drone defense," Trump said. "We know more about drones than anybody. We have the best drones in the world, actually."

Ukraine has developed innovations through its military and defense contractors during more than four years of conflict with Russia. Kyiv has sent drone interceptors and pilots to the Middle East to help U.S. allies defend against Iranian-designed Shahed drones that Russia has used to attack Ukrainian towns and cities. One Ukrainian manufacturer plans to produce more than 3 million low-cost first-person-view military drones in 2026, compared with the 300,000 first-person-view military drones built in the U.S. in 2025.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the government will only relax broad military export restrictions after ensuring Ukrainian companies' intellectual property is protected and they can deliver sufficient supplies for Ukraine's defense against the Russian invasion. "We are preparing positive news for Ukraine," Zelenskyy said. "In addition to the Middle East and the Gulf, the South Caucasus, and Europe, we will soon launch this new security cooperation within the framework of Drone Deals with another part of the world as well."

Nearly 20 countries are involved at various stages of Ukraine's defense agreements; four agreements have already been signed, and the first contracts under these agreements are being prepared. In late March, Ukraine signed security partnerships with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. In April, Ukraine signed defense and drone deals in Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands. In April 2026, Ukraine signed agreements with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on defense and energy.

Kyiv currently has funds to buy approximately $15 billion worth of weapons this year, according to Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine's Ministry of Strategic Industries. Ukraine's National Security Council projects a defense production capacity of $55 billion in 2026. In March, General Cherry signed a deal with Wilcox Industries to manufacture unmanned aerial vehicles in the U.S. Sine Engineering, whose technology allows drones to fly without GPS guidance to evade signal-jamming, received a multi-million dollar investment from the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. The Pentagon also invited Ukrainian companies to participate in its Drone Dominance initiative, a $1.1 billion program to identify drones for U.S. military contracts.