(CALGARY, CANADA) – Canada plans to send one third of all drones produced on its territory to Ukraine, as Ottawa moves to expand its domestic drone manufacturing base to millions of units over the next two years.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the commitment during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Calgary on 10th September. Carney said Canada expects to reach production of millions of drones over the next two years, with a portion of that output earmarked for Ukraine. The commitment concerns future production capacity rather than an existing stockpile. Exact annual volumes, the number of drones Ukraine will receive, and the specific list of models have not been disclosed.
Canada is developing its own infrastructure for the production of unmanned and autonomous systems under the Defence Drone Initiative. The programme provides for accelerating the development, testing and serial production of such systems for the Canadian defence forces and other government agencies. A key element is the creation of a pool of Canadian manufacturers able to participate in government procurement of unmanned systems. The initiative also covers counter drone technologies, communications and data transfer systems, integration and testing of unmanned platforms.
Canada is developing a separate area of cooperation directly with Ukraine. In May 2026, the two countries agreed on the joint production of Ukrainian unmanned systems in Canada. A partnership was established for this purpose between the Ukrainian defence technology company Airlogix and Canada’s Sentinel Research and Development.
During the 10th September meeting, Carney and Zelenskyy also discussed broader defence cooperation, including unmanned systems, counter drone capabilities, ammunition and artificial intelligence technologies. Canada is increasing its direct military assistance to Ukraine, announcing the allocation of 350 million Canadian dollars for air defence systems, equivalent to approximately $253 million or £200 million, as well as additional financial support for Ukraine’s energy sector ahead of the heating season.
The statement about transferring one third of drones produced in Canada concerns drones in general. There are currently no grounds to claim that this refers exclusively to combat or strike UAVs. The specific types of unmanned systems to be included in future deliveries to Ukraine are to be determined during the implementation of the programme.
Ukraine is one of the world’s largest centres for the practical use of unmanned systems in modern warfare. The Ukrainian military uses UAVs for reconnaissance, fire adjustment, target engagement, intercepting enemy drones and other tasks. Kyiv has actively developed international partnerships in recent years, enabling the production of Ukrainian defence technologies to be relocated to allied countries.
The Canadian initiative envisages a practical transition from a model in which Canada primarily purchases ready made weapons for transfer to Ukraine to long term cooperation in defence production. For Ukraine, this potentially means creating additional production capacity abroad and gaining access to greater resources for manufacturing unmanned systems. Ukraine and Canada have signed a declaration on a 100 year partnership.
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