“We can help transform Ukrainian ingenuity into battlefield advantage – and into joint industrialisation. This is why I can also announce that Europe will […] enter into a Drone Alliance with Ukraine. Ukraine has the ingenuity. What it needs now is scale. And together, we can provide it: so that Ukraine keeps its edge, and Europe strengthens its own.”
President von der Leyen
2025 State of the Union Address
What is the Drone Alliance?
The EU-Ukraine Drone Alliance is an industry-led and -driven coalition of European and Ukrainian companies aimed at reinforcing drone and counter-drone cooperation. The Drone Alliance brings together established and upcoming defence players, as well as public partners, providing an enhanced collaboration framework where innovation and competitiveness thrive. It potentiates robust industrial partnerships between companies from the EU, EEA-EFTA countries and Ukraine, fostering battlefield-disrupting defence applications in the drone and counter-drone domains.
The Drone Alliance’s work closely interacts with the Member State-led Priority Capability Coalition on Drones and Counter-Drone Systems. The Alliance begins to implement the Drone Deal, announced by President Ursula von der Leyen in July as part of the EU-Ukraine Defence Industrial Pact.
What are the objectives of the Drone Alliance?
The EU-Ukraine Drone Alliance contributes to EU efforts towards a comprehensive European drone and counter-drone capacity, enhancing European and Ukrainian resilience. It offers a multi-layered and multi-level framework, able to link sensors and effectors across the EU and Ukraine, and supports decision-making processes. Hence, its objectives include:
- Helping build joint ventures between Ukrainian and European companies.
- Accelerating the development and production of next-generation drones and counter-drone systems.
- Ensuring Ukraine has the capabilities it needs today, while strengthening Europe's defence readiness for the future.
Who can join the Drone Alliance?
The initiative aims to bring together systems manufacturers and innovators from EU Member States, EEA-EFTA countries and Ukraine, from start-ups and scaleups to established defence players, as well as researchers, armed forces and other relevant entities involved in the drone and counter-drone domains.
Going forward, the Drone Alliance will be open to new members. Information on future opportunities to join the Alliance as general members or public partners will be published on this website shortly.
Background
Technological innovation dictates strength on the battlefield, as clearly displayed during Russia’s ongoing, unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine. In particular, drone and counter-drone technology has become a decisive capability in future warfare. More recently, repeated violations of EU airspace have also shown the urgency of ensuring an advanced, flexible and agile European capability to counter unmanned aerial vehicles. The Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030 already established this capability as an EU priority to be addressed in a coordinated manner, under the European Drone Defence Initiative.
While Member States have already started work on the drone and counter-drone domain within a dedicated capability coalition, the European Commission is committed to intensify its support to EU countries through dialogue and engagement with industry, and reinforced cooperation with Ukraine. Moreover, a stronger European drone and anti-drone capacity should build on the lessons learned from Ukraine about the key value of innovative drone and counter-drone ecosystems, linking R&D with production, and relying on scalable production capacity and continuous technological development.
Therefore, the Commission, in close cooperation with Ukraine, facilitated the establishment and continues to support the work of the Drone Alliance, designed as an industry-led and -driven initiative. The EU-Ukraine Drone Alliance connects large and emerging industrial actors that learn from each other, and in particular from Ukraine’s adaptation in a full-scale war situation. Members collaboratively build up EU and Ukrainian drone and counter-drone capabilities.
The EU-Ukraine Drone Alliance was first announced by President von der Leyen in her State of the European Union speech in 2025 to foster an innovative defence drone-industrial ecosystem. It is a key deliverable of the Joint Communication Preserving Peace – Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030, published in October 2025, and of the Communication on the Action Plan on Drone and Counter Drone Security of February 2026.
President von der Leyen’s announcement was followed by a call for expressions of interest, from which 18 founding members were selected. Launched publicly at the third EU-Ukraine Defence Industry Forum in Kyiv in July 2026, the Drone Alliance marks the start of the implementation of the Drone Deal, announced as part of the EU-Ukraine Defence Industrial Pact.
Milestones of the Drone Alliance
- 10 September 20252025 State of Union
President von der Leyen announces the EU-Ukraine Drone Alliance in her speech to the European Parliament
- 23 October 2025Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030
The Drone Alliance becomes a key deliverable of the EU's defence readiness agenda
- 12 February 2026Drone & Counter-Drone Action Plan
The EU sets out further actions on drone and counter-drone security
- 25 May 2026Call for Founding Members
Close to 400 applications received by the Commission result in 18 Founding Members selected
- 15 July 2026Launch of the Drone Alliance as part of the Drone Deal
President von der Leyen and President Zelenskyy announce the Drone Deal in Kyiv, one day after the Drone Alliance is formally launched during the third EU-Ukraine Defence Industry Forum
- 11 September 2026First Board Meeting
Founding Members convene in Brussels to define the future path of the Drone Alliance
- later on in 2026Second Board Meeting
A subsequent meeting of the Board of the Drone Alliance is foreseen before the end of 2026
