Army turns to combat-tested Ukrainian drone system in $10.6 million deal

The Army has awarded a Ukrainian defense manufacturer’s U.S. subsidiary a $10.6 million contract involving its Raybird reconnaissance drone system, which has been used extensively on the battlefield in Ukraine.

The Defense Department announced Friday that Skyeton Inc. received the contract for Raybird unmanned aircraft system hardware and services. The work is expected to be completed by Dec. 15.

The Raybird weighs less than 50 pounds, has a wingspan ranging from 10 to 14 feet and features an array of sensors and cameras used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

The drone can remain airborne for more than 28 hours and has a range of about 1,500 miles. A system consisting of three drones and a ground station costs about $1 million, according to the Skyeton website.

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine has used short-, medium- and long-range drones to counter Russia’s larger military.

The conflict has since evolved into intense drone warfare on both sides, transforming the way wars are being fought around the globe.

Ukraine’s innovative use of the technology has brought the conflict deep into Russian territory, with strikes on military installations, retail warehouses and oil refineries.

The U.S. Army has responded by launching modernization efforts in both offensive and defensive drone operations.

Those efforts have included testing Ukrainian-made systems. Ukrainian manufacturer F-Drones delivered 2,000 F10 attack drones to the U.S. military this summer for evaluation under the Pentagon’s Drone Dominance program, Stars and Stripes reported last month.

Skyeton was founded in 2006 and has since grown to more than 500 employees at facilities in Ukraine, Slovakia and the U.S., according to the company’s website. Skyeton Inc., based in North Las Vegas, Nev., is the Ukrainian manufacturer’s U.S. subsidiary.

The Raybird was adopted by the Ukrainian military in 2018. Its small size helps make it resistant to electronic warfare and difficult for most air defense systems to detect, the company’s website said.

Raybirds have gathered intelligence from deep within Russia. Due to its work with Ukrainian armed forces, the company’s Kyiv office was destroyed in a Russian attack in May, the company announced in a statement.

In July, Skyeton announced plans to build its flagship manufacturing facility in Fayetteville, N.C., according to a statement from the state’s Commerce Department. The company plans to invest $3.1 million on a 28,500-square-foot facility.

“Expanding our manufacturing footprint in North Carolina is about more than opening a new facility,” Skyeton CEO Quito Saez said at the time. “It’s about strengthening America’s defense industrial base, creating high-quality American jobs and delivering combat-proven capabilities closer to the warfighters we exist to serve.”

The contract describes multiple orders and does not specify where the work will be performed.