SerpApi.Org
An American manufacturer will for the first time begin producing drone boats designed and battle-tested by Ukraine as the Pentagon seeks to expand its arsenal of autonomous weapons.
The deal has been struck as the U.S. begins to use sea drones in combat after years of testing and development. American drone boats attacked an Iranian submarine and ship facility at a naval base located on the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month in a kamikaze mission.
The manufacturing deal also comes as the U.S. and Ukraine move to increase sharing of weaponry. President Trump recently said he would consider allowing Ukraine to manufacture American Patriot missile interceptors, which the U.S. has drained in the Middle East and which Ukraine needs to counter Russian attacks. A longer-term White House-sponsored attempt to access Ukrainian technology and expertise has moved only slowly.
The drone boats, known as Maguras, will be manufactured by Portland-based ReconCraft, which makes boats for special-operations forces. A memorandum of understanding between ReconCraft and Magura-maker Uforce was signed at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington last week.
The deal is considered a “teaming agreement” under which both companies provide supplies, equipment and workers, according to executives. ReconCraft co-founder Joe Silkowski said the goal is to make hundreds or even thousands of Maguras a year at facilities in Oregon and South Carolina. Executives declined to disclose the value of the deal.
“This partnership sets an important precedent,” said Ukrainian Ambassador Olga Stefanishyna. “I am confident it will encourage many other companies to follow its example and deepen U.S.-Ukraine defense industrial cooperation.”
Ukraine, which is sensitive about sharing its military technology, has transformed warfare with its rapidly advancing arsenal of air-, land- and sea-based drones. The country has used its low-cost, unmanned platforms to take out valuable Russian targets, including warships, aircraft and infrastructure.
The U.S. now is racing to catch up. The Pentagon is looking to spend tens of billions of dollars on autonomous systems in the coming years. The war in Iran, which has strained the U.S.’s inventory of expensive offensive and defensive munitions, has shown the need for lower-cost weapons that can be expended at speed.
Ukraine’s kamikaze sea drones like the Magura have largely forced Russian warships to retreat from the Black Sea. They have also hit oil tankers and bridges, and they have even transported missiles and rockets to shoot down aircraft and hit land targets.
Ukraine’s blessing to manufacture the Maguras in the U.S. is “absolutely key,” said Uforce Chief Executive Oleg Rogynskyy, because the Magura will allow the U.S. to capitalize on the lessons, tactics and concepts of operations that have been honed over years of war in Ukraine.
Through the partnership, Uforce will make available to the U.S. its array of unmanned aerial, maritime and ground systems, as well as its autonomy software and command-and-control technologies, the company said.
Maguras are 25-foot-long unmanned speedboats that can carry a payload of more than 1,700 pounds for more than 350 miles, according to Uforce. The boats, which the company says cost less than $500,000, are designed to carry out strikes, but they can also launch aerial drones, conduct minesweeping missions and tow sonar systems to detect submarines, Rogynskyy said.
In the U.S., the boats will enter an already crowded market for unmanned surface vessels. A range of established defense companies and startups are rushing out new boats with ever-greater ranges and explosive power as the Pentagon looks to boost its fleet of drone boats.
But drones battle-tested in Ukraine are already shaping the U.S.’s effort to buy billions of dollars of autonomous systems. The U.S. has sent Merops aerial drones, which crash into attack drones, to the Middle East to fend off Iranian attacks.
Last year, the Pentagon forwarded a list of 12 different Ukrainian drones to several large U.S. defense companies to inquire if they wanted to build them or work with them.
Deals between Kyiv and the U.K., Germany and Denmark, meanwhile, have already resulted in Ukrainian companies operating there, as Europe moves faster to capitalize on the country’s battle-tested technology.
“We are the first USV company that’s endorsed by the Ukrainian government to build in America for the success of the U.S. military,” said Sean Plankey, who leads Uforce USA. “We were selected to be the first company due to the bona fides of Uforce.”
Write to Shelby Holliday at [email protected] and Alistair MacDonald at [email protected]