Kyiv-authorized exporter F-Drones is opening its first U.S. plant in Ohio after landing a Pentagon contract — a milestone deal linking Ukraine’s battle-tested drone industry to American troops.
Ukrainian drone manufacturer F-Drones will build its first U.S. factory in Ohio, the company and state officials said, after becoming the first Ukrainian exporter authorized to sell military drones to the United States.
The announcement, made June 29 by F-Drones’ U.S. arm, Ukrainian Defense Drones (UDD), follows a Pentagon contract awarded under the Department of Defense’s $1 billion Drone Dominance program. The deal covers an initial order of 2,000 first-person-view (FPV) drones and marks the first time the Ukrainian government has approved the export of military drone systems to the United States.
The new plant will rise in the Village of Holland, Lucas County, near Toledo. UDD’s investment is valued at $18.4 million and is expected to create at least 300 jobs, according to state and congressional officials.
“Becoming the first Ukrainian drone manufacturer authorized by the Government of Ukraine to export drone systems to the U.S. military is a historic milestone, and the next step is to share the technology to produce these drones on American soil,” F-Drones Chief Executive Stas Khutor said. “We’re proud to support the vision behind the emerging U.S.–Ukraine Drone Deal and to help strengthen the security and technological leadership of both our nations.”
The deal addresses a longstanding gap in the U.S. military’s arsenal. While American defense contractors led the world in developing large uncrewed combat aircraft such as General Atomics’ MQ-1B Predator and MQ-9A Reaper, the Pentagon has struggled to field small, disposable FPV drones to frontline combat units.
That market has been dominated by Chinese manufacturers, particularly DJI, which controls roughly 80% of the U.S. commercial quadcopter market. DJI drones remain barred from U.S. military procurement over national security concerns. F-Drones officials said the absence of Chinese components in its systems was a key factor in winning the Pentagon contract.
Founded in 2023, F-Drones has become a major supplier to Ukrainian forces during the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its fifth year. The company’s combat platforms are used for kinetic strikes, battlefield reconnaissance and counter-drone air defense.
Its flagship product, the F10 strike drone, uses a conventional X-configuration quadrotor paired with an FPV camera and an explosive warhead. F-Drones describes the F10 as designed for “high-impact strike missions against armoured vehicles, equipment, and personnel.” The F10 placed sixth among competitors in the first phase of the Pentagon’s Drone Dominance evaluation, known as the Gauntlet, scoring 72.9 out of 100 points and securing the prototype contract for 2,000 systems.
F-Drones also produces the F7, a counter-drone interceptor the company says is optimized for high-speed engagements, with a top speed of up to 200 knots (370 km/h). The F7 carries daylight and thermal imaging cameras, a GPS-denied inertial navigation system and an automatic terminal guidance system that can home in on a target without direct operator input. F-Drones says that during the terminal phase of flight, the pilot controls only speed, while “all other functions are performed automatically.” F-Drones says the F7 “supports remote control from long distances, enabling operators to conduct interceptions from hundreds of kilometres away.” Its officially listed operational range is 21.5 nautical miles, with one-way flights of up to 43 nautical miles logged, and a flight ceiling above 29,000 feet.
Interceptors like the F7 are designed to counter cheap, mass-produced “kamikaze drones” such as the Iranian-made Shahed-136, which Western governments have struggled to defend against using costly air defense missiles. Shahed drones are believed to have been used in strikes that destroyed multiple U.S. aircraft on the ground in Saudi Arabia in March, including Boeing KC-135 tankers and a Boeing E-3 Sentry.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said the state offered an ideal location for the project. “There is no better place than Ohio for our allies to build the technology that strengthens our national defense, and UDD’s decision to invest here means 300 new jobs for the people of Lucas County,” DeWine said. “This investment strengthens our economy and the manufacturing base that our nation’s security depends on.”
U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, who represents Lucas County and co-founded and co-chairs the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, credited a coordinated push to land the facility. “An all-hands-on-deck approach won the day after our sustained engagement to attract one of the leading manufacturers of unmanned systems, Ukrainian Defense Drones (UDD) — the US arm of Ukraine’s F-Drones — to start assembly in Northwest Ohio,” Kaptur said.
JobsOhio President and CEO J.P. Nauseef said the state’s manufacturing base made it competitive for defense investment. “Ohio gives defense innovators everything they need to move from innovation to production at scale,” Nauseef said, adding the project “strengthens America’s defense industrial base” and “secures critical manufacturing on U.S. soil.”
Retired Rear Adm. Michael Hewitt, chairman of U2D2 Corp., the group that led site selection for the project, said Ohio could become a broader manufacturing center for the sector. “UDD’s Ohio facility is just the beginning,” Hewitt said. “We believe that Ohio will become a vertically integrated manufacturing hub for all types of unmanned systems and their components.”
The Lucas County Board of Commissioners said the area was chosen after a competitive selection process, citing the county’s “skilled and experienced manufacturing workforce, strategic transportation and logistics network, and business ecosystem.”
Ohio has increasingly positioned itself as a defense manufacturing hub. The state is already home to jet engine maker GE Aerospace, and startup Anduril Industries plans to assemble the U.S. Air Force’s FQ-44 autonomous fighter jet at its Arsenal-1 factory in Ohio. The Air Force awarded production contracts for both the FQ-44 and General Atomics’ FQ-42 on June 17.
Ukraine’s drone export push extends beyond the Ohio deal. F-Drones is also competing in the second phase of the Pentagon’s Drone Dominance program, which involves 48 companies and is expected to yield up to 10 winners; the U.S. military intends to procure up to 60,000 drones following that phase. Ukraine’s defense-industrial complex has grown from roughly $1 billion to more than $50 billion since Russia’s full-scale invasion began, and the country plans to produce more than 7 million unmanned systems in 2026.
Key Takeaways
- F-Drones, the first Ukrainian manufacturer authorized by Kyiv to export military drones to the U.S., will build its first American factory in Holland, Ohio.
- The $18.4 million project, backed by a $1 billion Pentagon Drone Dominance contract for 2,000 FPV drones, is expected to create at least 300 jobs.
- F-Drones’ F10 strike drone and F7 interceptor were combat-tested in Ukraine’s war with Russia.
- The deal reduces U.S. reliance on Chinese-made drones, which dominate the commercial market but are barred from military use.
- Ohio is emerging as a defense-manufacturing hub alongside GE Aerospace and Anduril’s autonomous fighter jet production.