Germany is investing in arms production in Ukraine - mainly in long-range drones. Kiev needs German technology, but what are the possibilities in this regard and what are the limits?
Russia attacks Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles every day. Ukraine defends itself and retaliates, with targets sometimes deep inside Russian territory. Perhaps drones produced with German money are being used for these attacks.
"This is the beginning of a new form of military-industrial cooperation between our countries, which has great potential," said Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Berlin at the end of May. Germany will finance long-range weapons that are produced in Ukraine. The two defense ministries signed the relevant agreement.
Two months later, the details of the agreement are not known, but "the process is underway," Mitko Müller from the Defense Ministry said in response to a DW inquiry.
"A huge change in Germany's approach to Ukraine"
In June 2024, Denmark became the first NATO country to join the Ukrainian defense industry. German weapons manufacturers are also represented in Ukraine, but the most visible is definitely the company "Rheinmetall". The giant in the industry is expanding its presence with joint ventures - tanks are being repaired, an ammunition plant is being built. "We see a huge change in Germany's approach to Ukraine, a complete opening", Igor Fedyrko, executive director of the Ukrainian Council of Arms Manufacturers, told DW.
The news is the German government's direct investment in Ukrainian drone and missile production. According to the newspaper "Die Welt", Berlin intends to finance about 500 drones of the Antonov-196 ("Lyuty") type with a range of over 1,000 kilometers. According to Ukrainian media, the price of one drone is about $200,000.
The drone is the result of previous Ukrainian-Turkish cooperation and "is already in a fairly advanced phase of development and testing", Austrian military expert Gustav Gressel said in an interview with DW. However, "many of these drones" are shot down because they fly slowly, like similar Russian models.
Ukraine needs more Western technology
However, Ukraine is also counting on German know-how. "We lack deep technologies (deeptech), which are related to the main components. With this knowledge, we could carry out a more serious modernization and act more effectively", says Igor Fedyrko. "Germany has these technologies, including the best optoelectronic systems with matrix cooling."
Ukraine is making the same request to all partners - to receive technologies for long-range weapons, he emphasizes. "We are talking about a range of 500 to 1,000 kilometers. And some of them, for example the "Lyuty" drone, can already reach targets at a distance of over 2,000 kilometers," adds Fedirko.
Drone war
Many of the German defense companies active in Ukraine are startups from Bavaria. One of them is Quantum-Systems. The company was founded in 2015, and since 2022 it has been supplying the Ukrainian army with its Vector reconnaissance drone. The peculiarity of this drone is that it can take off and land vertically. "We are the only Western company that produces reconnaissance drones where they are most needed - on the ground in Ukraine," Sven Kruk, CEO of Quantum-Systems, told DW. The company already has about 200 employees in Ukraine and is continuing to grow.
The German combat drones being supplied to Ukraine are manufactured by Helsing. The Bavarian startup supplies thousands of drones to the attacked country, and in February 2025 announced a new order for 6,000 HX-2 combat drones. According to the manufacturer, they have a range of 100 kilometers and, thanks to artificial intelligence, are "resistant to electronic warfare and jamming technologies".
Although Ukraine is happy with German investments in drone production, its needs are far from being met. The country needs a quantity that can be "produced cheaply only in Ukraine," says military expert Gustav Gressel. The same applies to missiles.
The German government has not yet made a decision on the supply of the "Taurus" cruise missiles. However, it is possible to increase the range of the Ukrainian Neptun cruise missiles by supplying certain parts - for example, through more efficient special engines that fly further with the same amount of fuel, as well as through sensors that provide greater accuracy, especially for ground targets. However, a decision on this issue has not yet been made.
Ukraine now produces its own weapons that compete with Western ones
What is new is not only the willingness of German companies to invest in Ukraine, but also to share their know-how. At the beginning of the Russian invasion, there was a fear that modern weapons could fall into Russian hands, says Gressel. There were also doubts about the reliability of Ukrainian soldiers, in connection with which Ukraine only received old weapons.
But that has changed, because the country now produces its own modern weapons that can compete with Western companies. "German companies learn things here that cannot be simulated in peacetime and for which there are neither training grounds nor simulation conditions in Germany," explains the Austrian expert.
Sven Kruk from Quantum-Systems confirms: "Developing drones is like a game of cat and mouse - only those who are on the ground can adapt to constant changes. Our knowledge from Ukraine is directly reflected in the development of our products, which we offer to all customers around the world. He sees his company as an example and wants to "encourage others to follow suit."
Igor Fedyrko of the Ukrainian Council of Arms Manufacturers is counting on expanding cooperation: "Germany is a country with a typical European bureaucracy - it needs time to sort things out. But when the Germans say they will do something, we in Ukraine know that it will be done."