Germany funds 50,000 attack drones for Ukraine in €90 million contract

Germany is financing the purchase of 50,000 Shrike first‑person‑view attack drones for Ukraine. The drones are built by Ukrainian manufacturer SkyFall and equipped with autonomous targeting software from U.S. defence firm Auterion. Auterion CEO Lorenz Meier said the contract is worth about €90 million ($103 million) and that part of the order has already been delivered, with the remainder to be dispatched within the year.

The deal is one of the largest known Western drone purchases for Kyiv and complements other Western aid, including a U.S. Pentagon contract for 33,000 similar drones and Britain’s pledge of 150,000 drones this year. The delivery aims to sustain Ukraine’s heavy reliance on unmanned systems in its ongoing war with Russia.