Investments of over $18M: Ukrainian drone maker F-Drones to open its first production site in the US

Ukrainian drone maker F-Drones, through its American representative Ukrainian Defense Drones (UDD), is opening a factory in the US.

This was announced by congresswoman Marcy Kaptur.

UDD is investing $18.4 million in the project. The factory, which is expected to create at least 300 new jobs, will be located in the town of Holland (Ohio).

What is known about F-Drones’ new US production

The facility will handle assembly and manufacture of FPV drones and other unmanned systems, as well as their testing, after-sales support, personnel training, software and hardware integration, and localization of the production chain in the US.

The decision to launch production was announced after UDD received a contract from the Pentagon under the US Drone Dominance Program?The program aims to massively scale up drone production for the US military.. 

F-Drones said that UDD became the first Ukrainian drone manufacturer to receive permission from the government of Ukraine to export drones to the US military. The company’s next step is transferring the technologies for producing these drones directly in the US.

According to F-Drones’ CEO Stas Khutor, production in the US should enable scaling up the output of unmanned systems for the US military and its allies.

More about F-Drones

F-Drones develops software, electronics, its own motors, electronic speed controllers and flight controllers.

The company is known for its UAVs F7, F10 and the LITAVR “Shahed” interceptors. 

F-Drones began drone production in 2023. 

Recall that German company ARX Robotics and Ukrainian Roboneers are creating the joint venture ARX Industries to produce ground robotic complexes. The corresponding agreement was signed during the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026 in Gdańsk.

In the company’s first year of operation, they plan to produce several thousand units of the ground robotic complex “Рись Pro”, and later gradually increase production to tens of thousands per year.

Read also: Ukrainian Unwave received an export permit to test its electronic warfare (EW) system in the Czech Republic. This is the first case in Ukraine