Germany is financing the purchase of 50,000 attack drones for Ukraine in a contract valued at about €90 million ($103 million), according to multiple sources [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
The drones involved are the Shrike first-person-view (FPV) models produced by Ukrainian manufacturer SkyFall. They have been deployed on the Ukrainian battlefield since 2023 as a low-cost strike weapon [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
These drones use software developed by U.S. defense tech firm Auterion that enables autonomous tracking and striking of moving targets. Lorenz Meier, Auterion CEO, confirmed the contract size and said, "Some of the drones had already been delivered to Ukraine's government with the rest due for dispatch this year" [1].
Auterion is assisting in supplying a total of 100,000 drones to Ukraine in 2026, funded by multiple Western governments. This includes a $50 million Pentagon contract delivering 33,000 drones and the UK’s June 2026 announcement to provide 150,000 drones as part of a £752 million aid package [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Meier said, "Auterion is helping to supply a total of 100,000 drones for Ukraine this year in partnership with different hardware makers, funded by several Western governments" [1].
Germany and Ukraine signed a joint drone production cooperation agreement called BARS in early July 2026, with Germany providing first-phase funding to expand drone manufacturing [6].
The German Defence Ministry and Ukraine’s Defence Ministry declined to comment on the purchase citing operational security [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
Russia protested Germany’s military support including drone supplies and summoned Germany’s ambassador on July 13, 2026. The Russian Foreign Ministry described Germany’s expanding support as "unacceptable," accusing Berlin of supplying drones used in attacks on civilian infrastructure in Russia [7].
Deliveries of the German-funded Shrike drones will continue throughout 2026. The wider Western drone provision aims to bolster Ukraine's capabilities with large-scale autonomous strike assets [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
