Ukraine and the European Union signed a deal to establish joint drone projects and expand production by combining Ukrainian battlefield expertise with European financing and industrial capacity, Reuters reported on July 15. Brussels has also allowed Kyiv to use part of a 6 billion euro ($6.86 billion) drone-procurement tranche to buy Chinese components unavailable in sufficient quantities in Europe.

The 6 billion euro tranche comes from the defense component of the European Union's 90 billion euro Ukraine Support Loan, approved in April. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also said Ukraine produces about 10 million drones annually and aims to double output to 20 million.