American military specialist, West Point graduate and current president of the American University in Kyiv Dan Rice told Ukrinform about this in an exclusive comment.
“Drone technology is certainly transforming the way war is fought. Militaries and non-governmental organizations around the world are learning lessons from the events in Ukraine — on both the Russian and Ukrainian sides. Unfortunately, we are seeing Russia and China producing a variety of unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as maritime and land drones. Their manufacturing capabilities are increasing, and our adversaries are becoming more powerful in this area,” Rice said.
At the same time, he emphasized that Ukraine occupies a leading position in this area on the world stage, especially among democratic countries.
“Ukraine is a leader from a democratic point of view in all aspects of unmanned technologies – from development and design to research and development, implementation, strategy and tactics,” he added.
Rice believes that the West would greatly benefit from Ukrainian experts training policymakers in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Pandia and Finland – countries that are also under threat from Russia. He emphasized the need for Western countries to actively invest in technologies developed in Ukraine.
“Why should Estonia spend resources on R&D and create its own sea, land or air units when it can simply buy 10,000 or 20,000 units from Ukraine?” Rice said.
He praised Ukraine’s achievements in adapting existing drone platforms.
“In Ukraine, many frontline units are already adapting everything that comes their way. There are small research labs all along the front lines, staffed with people who know what works best in the terrain. Once the basic platforms, like the Sea Baby or the Magura, are standardized, they can add components, including electronic warfare, sea-to-air missiles to shoot down Russian aircraft, and more,” Rice said.
Despite these strengths, Rice noted that foreign private investment remains limited, primarily due to financial risks associated with the conflict.
“Currently, a significant part of defense production is financed by private Ukrainian capital, but the flow of international capital remains small, and this is an important point that, in my opinion, needs to change,” he said.
He believes that to attract global capital, governments need to intervene and secure private investment – for example, through the US-based Development Finance Corporation (DFC):
“For example, DFC is a development finance corporation, which is a division of the U.S. government. We are working to get DFC to invest in Ukraine’s defense. If we can do that, that will eliminate the downside risk to the private sector, and then private money will start flowing in,” Rice said.
He explained that in an ideal scenario, one dollar from the DFC could attract three dollars from the private sector.
“So there will be a significant influx of capital – that’s the concept of the DFC. The goal is to attract private sector investment not only in defense but also in general in areas like hospitality, universities and so on. So I think the DFC is taking this seriously and it will be helpful,” he added.
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He also called on other foreign governments to follow Ukraine’s example and invest in its defence sector.
“Ukraine can become a major defense producer for export to the United States and around the world, creating many serious solutions that Ukraine has tested and perfected on the battlefield,” he noted, emphasizing the importance of protecting Ukraine’s intellectual property.
He added that it is important for Ukraine to preserve the intellectual value of its projects for each of the main unmanned platforms and components.
“Take the Baba Yaha quadcopter, the Magura maritime drone, the casualty evacuation vehicles – these are very important technological advances that can save lives not only for the Ukrainians but for the entire NATO,” Rice said.
According to him, Ukraine can offer NATO, in particular, real experience of participation in the most modern war and the opportunity to teach others the lessons that Ukraine learned in the process.
On July 31, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law increasing defense spending, including funds for the production of drones.
Law No. 4561-IX “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2025” provides for an increase in defense spending by UAH 412.3 billion.
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