US reveals once-secret support for Ukraine's drone industry

The Biden administration has declassified one last piece of information about how it helped Ukraine: an account of its once-secret support for the country's military drone industry.

U.S. officials said Thursday they have made significant investments that helped Ukraine start and expand its drone production as it battles Russia's larger and better-equipped military.

Much of the U.S. aid to Ukraine's military, including billions of dollars in missiles, air defense systems, tanks, artillery and training, has been publicly announced. But other supporters have remained largely in the shadows.

That included helping Ukraine develop a new generation of drones and revolutionize the way wars are fought, according to U.S. officials.

Innovations in Ukraine's drone industry have been hailed as revolutionary, but U.S. support has been less well understood. In addition to technical support, the United States has spent significant sums, including $1.5 billion sent last September, to boost drone production in Ukraine, officials said.

Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, said the support had a real strategic impact on the war.

We have seen how drones have become increasingly essential in the fight in Ukraine and will be central to all future combat, Mr. Sullivan said in a statement on Thursday, referring to unmanned aerial vehicles.

The U.S. effort included money to support drone manufacturers and buy parts. The United States has also sent intelligence officials to Ukraine to help develop its program, according to people familiar with those efforts.

In an interview this week, CIA Director William J. Burns indirectly addressed his agency's support for Ukraine's drone program.

I think our intelligence support helped the Ukrainians defend themselves, Mr. Burns said. Not just in sharing intelligence, but also in supporting some of the systems that have proven to be so effective.

The White House has declassified information about Russian plans to attack Ukraine before the invasion. During the war, officials regularly declassified information about Iranian and North Korean arms shipments to Russia.

Mr. Sullivan said the drone effort began after the first Ukrainian counteroffensive in the fall of 2022, as the limits of Ukraine's conventional capabilities became clear.

Efforts have accelerated, Mr. Sullivan said, in preparation for the second Ukrainian counteroffensive. This push, in 2023, was ultimately less successful. Ukraine has not gained as much ground as it would have liked, in part because of Russia's use of drones.

That 2023 counteroffensive was a harsh lesson, U.S. officials said. Russian drones attacked tanks and armored vehicles supplied by the United States and Europe as they attempted to navigate minefields.

After the counteroffensive, U.S. officials said they quickly increased support for Ukrainian drone makers, building on kyiv's efforts to develop its own industry. In addition to financial aid, the Biden administration has worked to establish ties between U.S. technology companies and Ukrainian drone makers.

Last fall, the Pentagon allocated $800 million for drone production in Ukraine, which was used to purchase drone components and fund drone manufacturers. When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House in September, President Biden said an additional $1.5 billion would be dedicated to Ukraine's drone industry.

U.S. officials said Thursday they believe the investments have made Ukraine's drones more effective and deadly. They noted that Ukrainian maritime drones had destroyed a quarter of Russia's Black Sea fleet and that drones deployed on the front lines had helped slow the Russian advance into eastern Ukraine.

Mr. Sullivan said the drive to develop Ukraine's drone industry had provided invaluable lessons that the Biden administration had begun to incorporate into the U.S. defense industry.

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