US Army orders Ukraine-tested Raybird drones in $10.6m deal

As Skyeton expands its European manufacturing for its proven Raybird ISR drone and pitches it to NATO militaries, the US Army has placed an order for an undisclosed quantity.

Army contract for battle-proven Ukrainian ISR drone

A statement on contracts awarded on the 18th of September by the US Department of War says a small contract was issued for the Ukrainian drone, Raybird, for the US Army.

It says, “Skyeton Inc., North Las Vegas, Nevada, was awarded a $10,640,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Raybird UAS hardware and services.” It adds that bids were solicited via the internet, with one received.

The location of the work is to be determined later, but the estimated completion date is the 15th of December 2026. The quantity of drones is unclear.

Skyeton Inc. is the American arm of the Ukrainian drone maker, Skyeton, which builds Raybird reconnaissance drones.

This is not the first US order for Ukrainian drones. The US has also placed a preliminary order for F-Drone F10 FPV strike drones to be built in Holland, Ohio.

The Raybird ISR drone in the Ukraine war

Skyeton claims, “Raybird is a technological breakthrough — once deemed impossible, now a decisive advantage both on the battlefield and deep behind enemy lines.”

Raybird is designed as a modular platform enabling it to rapidly switch roles in the field. It can function as an FPV strike drone mothership, provide laser targeting, deploy ELINT/RF locators for tracking enemy emitters, utilise synthetic aperture radar for imaging in poor weather, and more.

The company claims the drone has a flight endurance of up to 24 hours, a wingspan of 2.96 to 4.2 metres, a maximum take-off weight of 23 kg (50 lbs), and a maximum flight range of 2,500 km (1,550+ miles). Its data link range is advertised as 200+ kilometres (125+ miles).

Raybird is claimed to have accrued over 350,000 combat hours during the war, and that the intelligence it has provided has helped to destroy billions of dollars’ worth of Russian military equipment.

In May 2026, Russia targeted Skyeton’s office in Kyiv, but the company noted that it has already dispersed its facilities in Ukraine and abroad and its deliveries continue.

Last month, Slovak authorities arrested three suspects plotting to set fire to a Skyeton facility in the country.

Raybird set for Plymouth production amid NATO offers

AGN reported last year that Raybird is set for production in Plymouth in the UK in a joint venture with Prevail Partners.

The Raybird has been offered as a potential Thales Watchkeeper WK45 successor. The British Army is currently ordering the Tekever AR5 through Project CORVUS to replace Watchkeeper.

The Raybird is even being considered for a sort of F-35 loyal wingman role. Not the conventional higher-end jet-powered role, but as an offboard platform providing laser targeting on targets up to 200 km deep so that an F-35 can release its laser-guided munitions from a safer distance.

Pavlo Shevchuk, International CEO at Skyeton, told AGN, “Raybird has been incredibly effective under the most demanding conditions on the Ukrainian battlefield.”

He added, “By forming an alliance with a respected British company … we expect the utility of our unmanned aerial system to grow globally and exponentially.”

Skyeton claims that it increases the efficiency of precision strikes from below 20% for GPS-guided munitions to over 80% efficiency. While impossible to independently verify, the CEO said in September 2025 that Raybird has helped destroy more Russian high-value targets than any other.