Germany will pay for 50,000 Ukrainian-made Shrike strike drones, Reuters reported on July 12, 2026. Auterion chief executive Lorenz Meier put the contract at about €90 million ($103 million), financed by a European country. Reuters called it one of the largest publicly known drone orders a Western government has placed for Kyiv.
The Shrike is a first-person-view drone built by SkyFall, a major Ukrainian producer, and has been used in Ukraine since 2023. Each one carries software from the US defense technology company Auterion. In the last stage of flight, that software lets the drone track and hit a moving target on its own.
Some of the drones have already reached the Ukrainian government. The rest are due later this year, according to Meier.
Who has said what
SkyFall confirmed Germany’s involvement but declined to discuss details. Germany’s Defense Ministry also declined to comment, citing operational security. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry has said nothing on the deal.
The wider drone push
The Shrike 10-F, a version SkyFall developed with the British company Skycutter, recently topped the leaderboard in the first round of a Pentagon competition. That contest belongs to a $1.1 billion program to buy hundreds of thousands of one-way strike drones, and Auterion software runs in several of the entries.
Meier said Auterion is helping deliver 100,000 drones to Ukraine this year, working with several hardware makers backed by Western governments. Among them is a $50 million Pentagon contract for 33,000 drones, already delivered. Last month Britain announced 150,000 drones for Ukraine this year, part of a £752 million ($1.01 billion) military assistance package.
Germany’s own drone deals with Kyiv are piling up. On July 8, the two countries signed an agreement to co-produce BARS drones, with Germany paying for the first phase and every drone going straight to the front. In April they agreed a €4 billion defense cooperation package that includes hundreds of Patriot missiles and more drones.
The Kiel Institute says Germany allocated €4.2 billion in military aid in March and April 2026, most of it for air defense and drones.
Sources
- Germany to pay for 50,000 autonomous drones for Ukraine — Reuters
- Germany Funds 50,000 Ukrainian Shrike FPV Drones to Resist Russian Jamming in Frontline Strikes
