# The Pentagon Finally Looks to Ukraine for Its Drone Swarms > According to an article published on July 1, 2026, by journalist David Hambling in Forbes, the American company Powerus has partnered with - Author: Maxime Marquette - Publisher: MadMax (https://mad-max.co) - Section: Editorial - Published: 2026-07-05 - Canonical URL: https://mad-max.co/en/article/le-pentagone-regarde-enfin-vers-l-ukraine-pour-ses-essaims-de-drones ## Introduction: when Washington learns from Kyiv ### A partnership that flips the usual roles **According** to an article published on July 1, 2026, by journalist **David Hambling** in **Forbes**, the American company **Powerus** has partnered with the Ukrainian company **Swarmer** to develop drone swarm control technology for the Pentagon's program to modernize its combat drone fleet. **This** partnership illustrates a notable reversal of the usual military technology transfer dynamics: it is no longer just the West equipping Ukraine, it is now the Pentagon coming to seek out Ukrainian expertise earned on the most intense battlefield in Europe in decades. ### The Drone Dominance program in the background **This** partnership falls under the Pentagon's **Drone Dominance Program**, backed by a **1.1 billion dollar** budget and created under presidential executive order **14307**, which has already drawn participation from **48** American and allied companies in the race to produce low-cost drones. **This** government initiative explicitly aims to close the American gap in combat drone production, a sector where the **United States** currently produces only about **50,000 drones per year**, a paltry figure compared to the millions of units produced annually by Russia and Ukraine combined. *We should have the humility to admit it: it's only fair that the Pentagon now comes to learn from Ukraine. After three years of war, Kyiv knows more about autonomous drone swarms than any Western military lab, and it's a good thing if the West knows how to draw on that.* ## Swarmer, expertise forged directly in combat ### A hundred thousand combat missions already flown **The** Ukrainian company **Swarmer**, founded in **May 2023** and based in **Austin**, Texas, while actively operating in Ukraine, has seen its swarm control technology fly more than **100,000 combat missions** since April 2024, a volume of operational experience no Western company has been able to accumulate under such extreme conditions. **This** massive combat experience gives **Swarmer** a technical credibility that is hard to match, its swarm coordination algorithms having been tested, adjusted and improved in real time against the most sophisticated Russian electronic countermeasures deployed on the battlefield. ### A company recently listed on the stock market **A** sign of the growing maturity of Ukraine's defense industry, **Swarmer** went public on the **Nasdaq** in 2026, a move that reflects growing confidence among Western investors in Ukrainian military technology companies born directly from the experience of the conflict. **This** stock market listing also allows **Swarmer** to raise additional capital to accelerate the development of its technology, while giving Western investors a concrete opportunity to financially support Ukrainian military innovation born from the war against Russia. *A hundred thousand combat missions are worth more than any theoretical research lab in the West. Ukraine paid a heavy price for this expertise, and it would be absurd for the West not to seek to learn from it for its own future security.* ## Powerus, the American partner with notable political connections ### A company backed by influential political figures **The** American company **Powerus**, led by **Brett Velicovich**, a former **Delta Force** member, benefits from the financial backing of notable political figures, including **Eric Trump** and **Donald Trump Jr.**, as well as a **30 million dollar** investment from the company **Unusual Machines**. **This** political connection between **Powerus** and the American presidential inner circle illustrates the growing overlap between private commercial interests and the current administration's military strategic priorities, a dynamic worth watching closely without necessarily calling into question the real military value of the partnership with Ukraine. ### Interceptors already used by American special forces **Beyond** this partnership with **Swarmer**, **Powerus** already sells drone interception systems called **Guardian**, currently used by **United States Air Force** special operations units, confirming the operational credibility this company has already established in the counter-drone defense sector. **This** prior credibility of **Powerus** in drone interception strengthens the strategic relevance of its partnership with **Swarmer**, now combining proven defensive expertise with offensive swarm expertise drawn directly from the Ukrainian battlefield. *The fact that people close to the president are investing in a defense company deserves a watchful eye, no question about it. But that changes nothing about the fact that the Ukrainian technology it's leveraging is, in itself, absolutely authentic and combat-proven.* ## Limited competition in this strategic market ### Auterion, the only other comparable player **According** to reporting from **Forbes**, the company **Auterion** currently remains the only other player in the sector capable of offering swarm control capability comparable to what the **Powerus**-**Swarmer** partnership provides, a rarity that underscores the technological lead Ukraine has acquired in this specific field. **This** limited competition gives the **Powerus**-**Swarmer** partnership an advantageous strategic position within the Pentagon's **Drone Dominance** program, where few other candidates among the **48 participating companies** can claim such extensive and documented combat experience. ### The ambitious goal of the 5,000-dollar drone **The** Pentagon's program explicitly aims to reduce the unit cost of combat drones to about **5,000 dollars** each, an ambitious goal that requires low-cost mass production, an industrial model where Ukraine's experience with fast, economical production proves particularly valuable. **This** price target reflects an implicit acknowledgment by the Pentagon that future military superiority in this field will depend less on the individual sophistication of each device than on the ability to produce and deploy massive volumes of low-cost drones, exactly as the war in Ukraine has demonstrated. *A 5,000-dollar drone seems almost laughable next to traditional weapons systems that cost millions. But it's precisely this philosophy of volume and low cost that Ukraine has proven to be the future of modern warfare, and the West would be wrong to ignore it.* ## The strategic complement of Ukrainian laser defense ### The Tryzub system that shoots down Shaheds for a few dollars **Alongside** this swarm technology, Ukraine is also developing a laser air defense system called **Tryzub**, developed by the company **Celebra Tech**, capable of neutralizing Russian **Shahed** drones at a distance of more than **three miles**, for a cost of about **13 dollars per shot**. **This** negligible cost per interception contrasts sharply with that of traditional interceptor missiles, which can cost between **100,000 dollars and 3 million dollars** per unit, an economic difference that could fundamentally transform the strategic equation of Western air defense. ### An innovation that also interests the Pentagon **This** Ukrainian laser technology, just like **Swarmer's** swarm control technology, confirms that Ukraine has become a genuine real-time military innovation laboratory, producing technological solutions that even the most advanced Western defense industries had not anticipated with such operational maturity. **American** Secretary of Defense **Pete Hegseth** has, moreover, sent Pentagon officials to directly observe drone warfare techniques in Ukraine, confirming the American administration's official interest in these conflict-born innovations. *Thirteen dollars per interception against millions for a traditional missile is the kind of ratio that should make any Western military planner stop and think. Ukraine hasn't just resisted the Russian invasion, it has reinvented the economics of modern warfare.* ## What this reveals about Ukrainian military leadership ### A position of world leadership earned through pain **This** Pentagon recognition of Ukrainian drone expertise confirms a reality already documented by several Western military analysts: Ukraine now holds an undisputed position as world leader in drone-related military innovation, a position earned at a considerable human and material cost. **This** expertise, forged directly on the battlefield against the Russian army, far exceeds what any theoretical Western research program could have produced in peacetime, confirming the old adage that necessity often remains the mother of the most radical innovation. ### A diplomatic and economic asset for Kyiv **Beyond** its immediate military value, this Ukrainian technological expertise is also becoming a significant diplomatic and economic asset for **Kyiv**, strengthening its position in negotiations with its Western allies and opening new technology export prospects for Ukraine's postwar defense industry. **This** dynamic confirms that Western support for Ukraine is no longer limited to a simple one-way assistance relationship, but is gradually evolving into a mutually beneficial technological partnership, where Ukraine now brings expertise the West itself does not yet possess at the same scale. *Watching Ukraine go from a country the West helps to a technology partner the West consults is a remarkable transformation in just a few years of war. Zelensky and his country deserve this recognition after everything they have endured facing Russian aggression.* ## The implications for Western deterrence posture ### Closing a critical gap against strategic rivals **This** partnership between **Powerus** and **Swarmer** is part of a broader Pentagon effort to close a critical gap in drone production, a field where **China** and **Russia** have built considerable industrial capacity that the **United States** must now quickly catch up on. **This** technological race for autonomous drone swarms represents a major deterrence issue for the West, since the ability to quickly produce and deploy massive volumes of cheap drones could become a decisive factor in any future conflict involving Western powers. ### A clear signal sent to Moscow and Beijing **By** actively integrating Ukrainian expertise into its own military development programs, the Pentagon is sending a clear strategic signal to its rivals: the West is not merely passively supporting Ukraine, it is actively capitalizing on lessons learned to strengthen its own long-term deterrence posture. **This** pragmatic and rapid approach to technological integration is exactly the kind of strategic responsiveness the West needs to keep its edge against rivals like **China**, **Russia**, **Iran** and **North Korea**, who themselves do not hesitate to collaborate militarily with one another. *If China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are already collaborating militarily with each other, it's high time for the West to show the same agility by quickly integrating the lessons from Ukraine. Tomorrow's deterrence is being built today, not after the next major conflict.* ## The limits and risks of this race toward autonomous weapons ### Ethical questions that remain unresolved **This** accelerated race toward increasingly autonomous drone swarms also raises important ethical questions about the level of human control needed before an autonomous weapons system can engage a target, questions the Pentagon will absolutely have to resolve before any large-scale deployment. **This** ethical reflection, though sometimes seen as a brake on rapid military innovation, remains essential for the West to preserve its moral legitimacy against strategic rivals who often impose no comparable ethical constraints on their own military programs. ### A technological dependency that calls for caution **Caution** is also warranted regarding the risk of excessive dependence on a small number of companies like **Powerus** and **Swarmer** for such a strategic military capability, a concentration that could create vulnerabilities should these companies face future financial or operational difficulties. **This** necessary caution should not, however, prevent the Pentagon from actively pursuing this promising partnership, but should instead encourage a gradual diversification of the technology partners involved in the **Drone Dominance** program over the longer term. *You can't rush headlong into military autonomy without asking serious ethical questions. But these legitimate questions also shouldn't become an excuse to slow down an innovation that Western security genuinely needs against less scrupulous rivals.* ## Conclusion: a well-deserved lesson in strategic humility ### The Pentagon must keep learning from Kyiv **This** partnership between **Powerus** and **Swarmer**, however modest it may seem compared to major traditional weapons programs, illustrates an important strategic recognition: Ukraine has become, through three years of brutal war against Russia, a global center of excellence in drone-related military innovation. **The** Pentagon is right to actively seek to integrate this expertise into its own future capabilities, an act of strategic humility that could prove decisive in maintaining Western military superiority against increasingly coordinated and determined rivals. ### A partnership to watch closely in the months ahead **The** evolution of this partnership, along with the concrete results it produces within the Pentagon's **Drone Dominance** program, will deserve continued attention, both for its direct military implications and for what it reveals about the changing relationship between Ukraine and its Western allies. *Ukraine paid in blood for this drone expertise. The least the West can do is put it to intelligent use rather than let it go untapped, out of respect for what this country has sacrificed to defend its values and, indirectly, those of the entire Western world.* **By Maxime Marquette, columnist** ## Columnist's transparency note ### Editorial stance I am not a journalist but a **columnist and analyst**. My expertise lies in observing and analysing the geopolitical, economic and strategic dynamics that shape our world. My work is to take political strategies apart, to understand global economic movements, to put the decisions of international actors in context and to offer analytical perspectives on the changes that are redefining our societies. I do not claim the cold objectivity of traditional journalism, which stops at reporting facts. **I claim analytical clarity**, rigorous interpretation and a deep understanding of the complex issues that concern us all. My role is to give meaning to the facts, to place them in their historical and strategic context, and to offer a critical reading of events. ### Method and sources This text keeps the basic distinction between **verified facts and interpretive analysis**. The rule never changes: a factual claim is published only when a verifiable source supports it, and the sources this article actually used are listed under **Sources**, never here. **Primary source families** used by the publication, when the story has them: official statements from governments and international institutions, public statements by political leaders, reports from intergovernmental organisations, dispatches from recognised international news agencies. **Secondary source families**: specialised publications, internationally recognised news media, analyses from established research institutions, reports from industry organisations. When an article cites statistical, economic or geopolitical data, it comes from the institutions that produce it (intergovernmental organisations, central banks, national statistics offices), and the exact institution is named under **Sources**. ### Nature of the analysis The analyses, interpretations and perspectives in the analytical sections of this article are a **critical, contextual synthesis** based on the information available, the trends observed and the expert comments cited in the sources consulted. My role is to interpret these facts, to set them in the context of today's geopolitical and economic dynamics, and to give them a coherent meaning within the larger story of the changes shaping our time. These analyses reflect expertise built through continuous observation of international affairs and an understanding of the strategic mechanisms that drive global actors. This article describes a documented state of affairs on its publication date, not a prediction: later developments may shift its outlook. No update is promised in advance; when an article is corrected or completed, the change is dated in the text. ## Sources ### Primary sources - Pentagon interested in Ukrainian tech for drone swarming, RBC-Ukraine — July 2026 - Ukraine's laser air defense system shows results, RBC-Ukraine — July 2026 ### Secondary sources - Powerus brings Ukraine's swarming tech to Pentagon's FPV competition, Forbes — July 1, 2026 - Ukraine emerges as world leader in drone technology, Army Recognition — 2025 - The Pentagon is learning drone warfare from Ukraine, Forbes — May 15, 2026 - Powerus puts Ukraine's combat-proven drone swarming into the Pentagon's drone race, BattlePolicy — July 2026 --- Source: Maxime Marquette, MadMax. When citing, name the author and link https://mad-max.co/en/article/le-pentagone-regarde-enfin-vers-l-ukraine-pour-ses-essaims-de-drones