Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s Swift Beat drones revolutionise Ukraine’s defence
July 26, 2025
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s secretive drone manufacturing company, called Swift Beat, is now producing advanced interceptor drones. These are proving to be a linchpin in Ukraine’s ability to counter swarms of one-way attack drones.
Why Ukraine has attracted the attention of Eric Schmidt
According to a report by Ukraine’s Ekonomichna Prava, Schmidt is focused on applying artificial intelligence to military applications. For him, Ukraine is a testing ground for “a new technological revolution.” The former Google CEO signed a long-term strategic partnership with Ukraine in early July 2025.
Schmidt is credited as the man who transformed Larry Page and Sergey Brin’s Google from a bright startup to a global tech giant. From 2001, he moulded Google into the internet search, online advertising, and cloud services giant everyone knows.
The publication asserts Schmidt believes “the outcome of future wars will be decided not by the number of soldiers, tanks, or fighter jets, but by the autonomy of systems and the power of algorithms.”
Schmidt stepped down from Google in 2011 and went on to advise the US government in AI, cybersecurity, and technological strategy in the context of competition with China.
Schmidt’s secretive Swift Beat defence company plans to expand production and deliver “hundreds of thousands” of drones to Ukraine in 2026. While Schmidt is greatly aiding Ukraine, the article says he sees it as a testing ground for advanced systems far beyond Ukraine.
Giving credit where it is due. There is a good deal of positive sentiment in Ukraine about this interceptor. If employment can be scaled, alongside similar systems, then it can help answer the challenge posed by Russian OWA drones. https://t.co/lzNOdck1UK
— Michael Kofman (@KofmanMichael) July 23, 2025
He has advised the Pentagon to “get rid of tanks and buy drones instead.” He is known to have visited Ukraine regularly since 2022 on a private basis and met with high-ranking Ukrainian officials.
The visit to Denmark begins with an important step for our defense. An agreement has been reached on Ukrainian-American cooperation in drone production, including interceptor drones — a crystal clear priority.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 3, 2025
We have signed an agreement with the robust American company Swift… pic.twitter.com/2DMO4IuV6V
Swift Beat’s new kamikaze interceptor drone
While Swift Beat’s projects and operations remain secretive, some intriguing information has leaked out. While the website says practically nothing about the firm, it’s understood that some of the world’s best engineers from Apple, Google, and Tesla are working for the company.
Swift Beat is working to make drones with artificial intelligence able to carry out a range of tasks. Ekonomichna Pravda reports three types of drones in development, although the names of these systems are not provided. It is known that they are interceptor drones.
The most common target for these AI-enabled drones is Russia’s swarms of Shahed one-way attack drones, as well as medium-range strike and other kamikaze drones.
Reports suggest these new interceptor drones appear to be unaffected by enemy electronic warfare and have built-in AI capabilities to target and destroy targets. These have already proven themselves well in combat. The military drone market is estimated to be worth $17 billion by 2028.
The need for a scalable, cheap solution
As drones proliferate in Ukraine and Russia produces an inordinate number of one-way attack Shahid drones, it appears the answer to counter the threat is more drones.
In Ukraine, Schmidt is developing drones and autonomous systems. The resulting intercepting drones are proving the most effective in taking down Russia’s endless waves of suicide drones.
This is critical as it is infeasible to counter vast swarms of cheap drones using expensive interceptor missiles like Patriot. Put simply, regardless of whether or not the money is available, there are not enough Patriot interceptor missiles (or any interceptor missile type) in the world to counter these drones.
Patriot missiles are only produced at a rate of around 600 per year, while Ukrainska Pravda reports Russia has already reached a Shahed production rate of 170 per day. Business Insider states Russia may soon be able to fire 2,000 of them in a single night.
Ekonomichna Pravda’s reporting suggests Swift Beat’s interceptor drones are proving immensely successful. It says that around 90% of Russia’s one-way attack drones that have been taken down were taken down by the new AI interceptor drones.
