Budanov: Drone Deal partners may gain access to Ukraine's jet-drone interception technology
Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with Euronews that countries holding Drone Deal cooperation agreements with Kyiv may negotiate access to new Ukrainian technologies for intercepting Russian jet-powered drones. He said Ukraine is already using the technology experimentally in combat, where it succeeds in most cases, and that the main challenge is scaling up production before the harshest part of winter.
Key points
- Budanov told Euronews that Drone Deal partners can negotiate access to Ukrainian counter-jet-drone technologies
- Ukraine is already using the new interception technology against Russian jet-powered drones in combat conditions, with successful intercepts in the majority of cases
- The main challenge is scaling up production to sufficient volumes before the harshest part of winter, Budanov said
- Budanov framed the cooperation as a principle of inter-country partnership on such products, not a deal for one specific item
- 11 countries have joined the Drone Deal format, including Latvia, Estonia, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, and Finland
- Drone Deal agreements cover joint production, technology transfer, and exchange of military experience
- On 28 September Zelensky said Ukrainian air defense shoots down about 70% of drones overall and 57% of jet-powered drones during massive Russian attacks
Why it matters
Budanov's comments position Ukraine's counter-drone expertise as an exportable defense product for partners both inside and outside the Drone Deal framework, while confirming that interceptors against Russian jet-powered drones have moved from testing into experimental combat use. His stated goal of reaching sufficient volumes before the harshest part of winter ties the technology directly to the expected seasonal surge in Russian drone strikes on energy and civilian infrastructure.
What happened
In an interview with Euronews, Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said countries holding Drone Deal drone-cooperation agreements with Kyiv may negotiate access to new Ukrainian technologies for countering Russian jet-powered drones. He said Ukraine is already using the interception technology in combat conditions, where it successfully intercepts Russian jet-powered drones in the majority of cases, and that the use is at least at the experimental-combat stage rather than purely testing. Budanov identified scaling up production as the main challenge and expressed confidence that Ukraine will reach the required level of interceptor production before the harshest part of the coming winter. He stressed that the cooperation is not about any single specific product but about a principle of inter-country partnership on such items, with any Drone Deal signatory able to continue negotiations on specific products. Budanov described the cooperation model with European partners as envisaging joint enterprises, keeping critical technologies in Ukraine, and contract transparency, in return for Ukraine offering partners speed of innovation and production scaling.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All the supplied coverage is from Ukrainian-language, Ukrainian-based outlets and centers on Budanov's Euronews interview. The reporting stresses both the promise of the new interception technology and the urgency of scaling production before winter, naming specific Ukrainian interceptor programs such as Alexa Spatium, which the Armed Forces began using in August, and the recently presented Zorelit v5. Ukrainian outlets also cite President Zelensky's stated shoot-down rates — about 70% overall and 57% for jet-powered drones during massive attacks — as the baseline against which the new technology is being measured, and quote a domestic defense-industry figure, Anatoliy Khrapchynsky, on bureaucratic delays slowing the creation of new interceptors.
Background
Russia has intensified its use of jet-powered drones capable of speeds up to 600 km/h, against which conventional Ukrainian interceptors at around 300 km/h have struggled. The Drone Deal format, which covers joint production, technology transfer, and exchange of military experience, has grown to 11 countries, including Latvia, Estonia, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, and recently Finland. Ukraine is developing multiple domestic interceptor designs, including Alexa Spatium and the recently presented Zorelit v5. Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken has publicly stressed the need to integrate Ukrainian technologies into NATO defense systems to counter Russian aerial threats. Earlier in the year, during the peak of US–Israeli operations against Iran, Ukraine helped some Middle Eastern countries with experience and interceptors against conventional Shahed-type drones. On 28 September Zelensky said Ukrainian air defense shoots down about 70% of drones overall and 57% of jet-powered drones during massive Russian attacks, and on 29 September he said the first weapon prototypes to shoot down jet Shaheds had been identified.