Russian missile destroyed the drone factory of US company Terminal Autonomy in Kyiv — Guardian

A Russian ballistic missile destroyed a drone factory in Kyiv that belongs to the American company Terminal Autonomy.

The Guardian reports.

This is the first likely case in which a US-owned enterprise has been targeted by a Russian strike.

What is known about the attack on Terminal Autonomy

The Guardian writes that the first report of the strike came from the Russian state agency TASS, citing the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The publication did not mention the factory’s American ownership, but it noted that specialists from a “Ukrainian-American company” worked there.

Former senior US intelligence official Entoni Vinchi said that ownership of the facility does not matter to Russian forces, since the site is considered a target in any case.

He also added that if production of Patriot systems or other US weapons were located in Ukraine (the possibility of licensing of which was mentioned by Donald Trump in early July), such sites would also become targets for Russian attacks.

The Guardian sought comment from Terminal Autonomy and the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine but did not receive a response.

More about Terminal Autonomy

Terminal Autonomy manufactures long-range strike drones equipped with guidance systems.

On its website Terminal Autonomy states that it develops AI-guided loitering munitions and precision munitions that are already being used on the front.

Production of Patriot missiles in Ukraine

On July 15, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine is, for the first time, approaching the capability to produce missiles for US Patriot air defense systems.

According to him, if the agreements are implemented, Ukraine will become the third country in history to have such a capability. Zelensky thanked the US president for the corresponding political decision.

Earlier, on July 8, US President Donald Trump said that the US would grant Ukraine licenses to produce Patriot missiles.

“A little bird told me that we’ll give them the right to make Patriots. We’ll show them how to do it. It’s very technically difficult, but I think you’ll handle it quickly. We talked about it. That way he [Zelensky] can’t complain that we aren’t giving him enough [Patriot missiles]. Make them yourselves,” — said the US president.

However, the next day Bloomberg published an article noting that a possible launch of production of Patriot interceptor missiles in Ukraine would require years of work and building a new supply chain of components from scratch.

On July 15, Kyiv Independent, citing an unnamed Ukrainian senior official, reported that the US had begun the process of issuing Ukraine licenses to produce Patriot missiles, moving the matter beyond political statements.

Furthermore, on July 24 Poland proposed that the US and Ukraine jointly produce missiles for Patriot air defense systems.

According to the Polish side, production should take place in a secure location, so they propose involving Polish enterprises in the project.

According to Poland’s Deputy Minister of National Defence Magdalena Sobkovyak-Charnetska, the American side received the idea positively given the development of the Polish defense-industrial complex and the country’s strategic location.

Also read: Ukraine plans to receive a prototype of a Patriot analogue already in the first half of 2027 — Reuters