Ukraine and Canada advance Drone Deal, first with a country on the American continent
President Zelensky and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney inspected drones in Alberta that will operate under a Ukraine–Canada Drone Deal, with the full agreement expected to be signed at the end of September during the UN General Assembly in New York. Under the deal, Canada is prepared to order large volumes of drones, with 30% of production transferred to Ukraine.
Key points
- The Drone Deal with Canada is Ukraine's first such agreement with a country on the American continent.
- Canada is ready to order large volumes of drones, with 30% of production transferred to Ukraine.
- The first part of the deal was signed on September 10; a document on the start of joint drone production was signed during Zelensky's visit to Canada.
- Full agreement is expected at the end of September during the UN General Assembly in New York.
- Teams initially aimed to conclude the deal in 90 days; at Carney's suggestion they agreed to aim for 9 days.
- Zelensky named protection from jet-powered Shahed drones as the priority task and said the first FREYJA anti-ballistic system should be ready by the end of the year.
- Norway became the tenth country to join the Drone Deal format at the end of August.
Why it matters
The agreement extends the Drone Deal format beyond Europe to North America and ties Canada to large-volume procurement, with 30% of output going to Ukraine. That gives Ukraine's defense industry long-term annual funding and a reliable foreign customer base, while the joint work is framed around a concrete operational problem — countering jet-powered Shahed drones — and feeds into the FREYJA anti-ballistic system scheduled for end-of-year delivery.
What happened
President Zelensky and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met in Alberta and reviewed drones designated to operate under a Ukraine–Canada Drone Deal. On September 10 the two countries signed the first part of the agreement, and during the visit they also signed a document on the launch of joint drone production. The full deal is expected to be concluded at the end of September during the UN General Assembly in New York. Canada is prepared to place large-volume orders, with 30% of the produced drones to be transferred to Ukraine. Negotiating teams had initially worked toward a 90-day timeline but agreed at Carney's suggestion to try to finish in 9 days. Zelensky identified protection from jet-powered Shahed drones as the priority and said Ukraine intends to share its findings with partners; he also said the first FREYJA anti-ballistic system should be ready by the end of this year. Canada is the first country on the American continent to join the Drone Deal format, which Norway joined as the tenth country overall at the end of August.
Background
The Drone Deal is a multi-year cooperation program in defense technologies between Ukraine and partner countries that provides annual funding to Ukraine's defense industry. Norway became the tenth country to join the format at the end of August. The first part of the Ukraine–Canada agreement was signed on September 10, and a document on the start of joint drone production was signed during Zelensky's visit to Canada.