Main points
- Ukraine can provide the United States with technology to counter Iranian drones, which is an opportunity to strengthen the security partnership.
- Donald Trump has prejudices against Kyiv and Zelensky, which could affect the adoption of Ukrainian technologies.
The US-Israeli war against Iran requires new technologies to counter the Shahed, and Ukraine can provide them. For Kyiv, this is an opportunity to become a partner of the US and Europe in security and defense issues. However, Donald Trump has many prejudices against Kyiv and Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally.
American politician and former military officer Adrian Bonenberger, in a conversation with Channel 24, assessed how much the US needs Ukrainian technologies that allow it to shoot down Iranian UAVs. He also suggested what Trump's attitude towards Ukraine is based on and whether it can change.
Are new technologies from Ukraine beneficial for the US?
Bonenberger noted that Donald Trump is a personalist, and if you fall out of favor with him, it is very difficult to change his mind.
Somehow, Vladimir Putin managed to win his favor a long time ago, and since then he has been loyal to the Kremlin leader, no matter what. We understand how Volodymyr Zelenskyy fell out of favor with him, and the Ukrainian president miraculously managed to soften Trump's attitude. He did a very good job of getting everything possible for Ukraine,
– the American politician emphasized.
Ukraine's technology for Shahed interceptor drones, in his opinion, the US will want to openly accept, even if the American military will ultimately use it reluctantly.
Important! The Ukrainian company Ukrainian Defense Drones Tech Corporation has been selected to participate in a contract competition within the Pentagon's Drone Dominance Program. The company presented its own F-Drones brand at the competition, which is an FPV attack quadcopter. The United States may purchase thousands of attack UAVs.
“Pete Hegseth is absolutely loyal to Trump, and if he doesn't want to accept help from Ukraine, the head of the Pentagon won't take it, even if it saves American lives. The problem is that Trump doesn't like to take something to look weak,” he explained.
Therefore, according to Bonenberger, even if the military says it is ready to use Ukrainian interceptor drones, which can increase the effectiveness of shooting down Iranian drones from 10% to 70%, Trump will likely say that the US does not need it.
This is very embarrassing for me as an American, because the cheapest drone that we can make for this type of purpose costs 35 thousand dollars. And in Ukraine there are drones that can be made using 3D printers and parts collected from serial drones, for 2-3 thousand dollars. We are not that good, and as a veteran of the US Army, it amazes me,
– said Adrian Bonenberger.
The American politician is sure that this is a huge opportunity for Ukraine. Moreover, he believes that the US should be friends with Ukraine, because Ukrainians are in many ways similar to Americans. Therefore, he does not understand why Washington does not help Ukraine more, even despite the topic of interceptor drones. However, this question should be addressed to Trump and his entourage.
What is known about the possibility of cooperation between Ukraine and the US on interceptor drones?
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Politico notes that the US, in the context of the war with Iran, needs more cheap Shahed interceptor drones. And Ukraine has them, because it has extensive experience in countering these drones.
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The US military was in Ukraine to learn about Ukrainian drone expertise. A cooperation agreement between the US and Ukraine has not yet been signed, but if it is signed, it would be “one of the few times Ukraine can publicly offer the US something of value directly.”
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At the same time, Volodymyr Zelensky noted that the US has not yet signed the drone agreement. However, Washington has not officially rejected Kyiv's offer, which was made exclusively to the US.
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Also, according to US public figure and politician Yuri Rashkin, Trump should like the fact that Ukraine is demonstrating strength, because it has cheap solutions for destroying Iranian drones that the United States does not have. He believes that technology exchange with allies is necessary: Ukraine provides solutions for the Shahed, and partners provide their technologies.