On September 11, the first Board meeting of the EU–Ukraine Drone Alliance took place in Brussels, bringing together 18 founding companies from Ukraine and the European Union.
During the inaugural Board meeting, the participants identified the Alliance’s key priorities and outlined the next steps for its work.
For Athlon Avia, the ultimate goal is the creation of a joint EU–Ukraine unmanned aerial systems market. Such a step would provide the EU with broader access to Ukrainian technologies while enabling Ukrainian drone manufacturers to establish secure production capabilities in Europe. Given the current challenges and threats, developing production capabilities outside Ukraine is already of critical importance.
The companies agreed to establish several key areas of cooperation, including strengthening supply chain resilience, enabling secure industry cooperation, scaling up production, and facilitating joint testing and innovation opportunities. The participants also agreed to establish direct communication channels between member companies.
Andrius Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defence and Space, described the first Board meeting as a historic step toward deeper integration between Ukraine and the European Union.
“Europe must learn to conduct drone warfare as one and learn from Ukraine. In a sense, this Alliance can become a kind of academy of Ukraine’s wartime experience,” the European Commissioner said.
The EU–Ukraine Drone Alliance, whose mandate runs for two years, will agree on its governance structure and define its operational priorities at its next meeting.
Artem Vyunnyk, Co-Founder of Athlon Avia“Ukraine should be not only a source of unique combat experience for Europe, but also a full-fledged participant in shaping Europe’s defence-industrial priorities and future capabilities,” “Together, we must focus on making the Alliance meaningful and influential. Our cooperation should result in solutions that carry real weight for both the Ukrainian and European defence industries.”
