- Pentagon receives 2,000 Ukrainian attack drones following historic export approval
- Ukraine completes first official export of fully assembled combat drones
- F10 drone gets Pentagon contract after solid performance in Gauntlet I
The United States received 2,000 Ukrainian F10 attack drones after manufacturer F-Drones won a contract with the Pentagon during the initial phase of the Drone Dominance program.
The shipment follows Ukraine’s first official export permit for complete combat drones, marking a notable change from previous approvals that mainly cover technologies, components or accessories.
The delivery also comes as the Pentagon advances the next phase of its broader $1.1 billion Drone Mastery initiative, aimed at expanding domestic and allied unmanned capabilities.
Ukraine grants first export permit for finished combat drones
Ukraine’s State Export Control Service issued the permit on July 1, 2026, authorizing F-Drones to ship a batch of F10 units across the border into US territory.
A company representative said the permit had already taken effect and the drones crossed that border shortly after approval was granted.
F-Drones noted that this approval came before new government measures simplifying military exports under martial law formally came into effect.
The company completed the full approval cycle under the export control mechanism that was already in place at the time.
That process required a positive decision by the interdepartmental commission that oversees military-technical cooperation and export policy issues.
The state company Spetstechnoexport accompanied the entire procedure, from the initial review to the final approval.
Ukraine’s previous export decisions have typically involved individual components or subsystems rather than complete combat-ready drone systems shipped in bulk.
This change suggests that Ukrainian officials now view finished drone exports as commercially valuable and diplomatically useful in deepening ties with Washington.
UDD Tech Corp’s path to winning the Pentagon contract
The American company UDD Tech Corp, which represents F-Drones products in the United States, entered the first phase of the program known as Gauntlet I.
Testing took place at Fort Benning, Georgia, in February 2026, involving 25 competing drone systems from various manufacturers.
The F10 system finished sixth among those 25 competitors and secured a spot among the program’s 11 total winners.
That result earned it the contract to supply 2,000 drones directly to the United States War Department.
UDD Tech Corp also earned selection to continue in the next competitive phase of the program.
The Drone Dominance initiative itself is designed to accelerate U.S. access to low-cost, combat-proven unmanned systems developed outside of traditional domestic supply chains.
Established US defense contractors have reportedly viewed the program with some caution, given the scale of foreign competition it now allows.
The deal signals a shift toward bringing foreign-made hardware into a Pentagon pipeline long dominated by U.S. defense contractors based across the country.
It is not yet clear from the information currently publicly available whether that change continues at scale or remains a one-time contract.
Via Defender Media
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