Pentagon Admits US Falls Significantly Behind Ukraine in Drone Production as Ukrainian Companies Enter US Joint Ventures

The Pentagon, in a Reuters report citing Defense Innovation Unit deputy director Travis Metz, acknowledged that Ukraine is on pace to produce six to seven million small first-person-view attack drones in 2026, roughly 500,000 monthly, while the Pentagon's $1.1 billion Drone Dominance program will have ordered fewer than 200,000 drones cumulatively by February 2027 1234. Metz said a supply-chain framework revised on July 23 sets a goal of a wholly domestic small unmanned aircraft system supply chain, barring Chinese-made components such as brushless motors and battery packs from the 19 companies competing in an August test event, and that semiconductors remain a larger sourcing challenge than drones 23. Metz said all six Ukrainian companies invited to next month's Gauntlet II trials at Fort Carson, Colorado have entered or are moving toward joint ventures with US manufacturers, including F-Drones with Ohio-based Ukrainian Defense Drones near Toledo and General Cherry with New Hampshire's Wilcox Industries, as a condition for future Pentagon orders 23.