Ukraine Is Becoming a Military SUPERPOWER… And It Will Surpass Russia

A new $30 billion drone deal between Ukraine and the United States, announced July 25, 2025, signals a radical shift in global military power. With President Zelenskyy now selling advanced drones to the U.S., Ukraine is reversing traditional defense partnerships and asserting dominance in drone warfare. Production is set to hit 8 million drones annually, while Kyiv’s overall defense budget climbs to $53.7 billion—26% of its GDP.

Backed by 150+ manufacturers and combat-tested AI tech, Ukraine’s defense sector has tripled in size, reaching $35 billion in production capacity. Its FPV drones, AI kits, and swarming software are not only defeating Russia on the battlefield but also turning Ukraine into a premier arms exporter. If the current momentum holds, Ukraine’s military future may outpace even the largest Cold War-era superpowers.

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For decades, there were two major military 
superpowers – the U.S. and Russia. China entered the fray as the third major power 
in the 2000s, amidst a massive military modernization that has put it close to being 
on par with the other two recognized powers. But the Ukraine war has changed everything.
In many ways, Russia has been revealed to be a paper tiger. As for Ukraine, it’s only getting 
bigger and stronger, to the point where it may one day surpass Russia as one of the world’s biggest 
military superpowers. This is how Ukraine is building a military empire that is bigger than 
Russia’s, and it all starts with one key piece of equipment:
Drones. On July 25, The Kyiv Independent reported that 
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that he had reached a first-of-its-kind drone deal 
with U.S. President Donald Trump. Why is this deal so important? Unlike so much of the cooperation 
seen between the U.S. and Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion, 
this deal isn’t about the U.S. giving weapons to Ukraine. It’s the other way around. As part 
of this new deal, Ukraine is going to start selling drones to the U.S. military.
And the new contract could be worth anywhere between $10 billion and $30 billion.
This deal is just part of a far wider-reaching deal that Zelenskyy is calling a “win-win,” 
The Kyiv Independent reports. Ukraine will start selling drones to the U.S. in exchange for 
Kyiv receiving other U.S.-made weapons. It could almost be viewed as a direct trade. One in which 
Ukraine leverages its brilliant work with drones to get more of the U.S. equipment it needs, while 
the U.S. gets a shortcut to keeping pace with Ukraine on the ever-evolving drone front.
And this isn’t the only drone-related deal Ukraine has struck with the U.S. recently.
On July 28, just three days after Zelenskyy announced Ukraine’s new win-win deal with 
the U.S., news broke that Ukraine is going to be receiving 33,000 AI-powered drone kits 
from the U.S. by the end of 2025. That new contract will see the U.S. Defense Department 
work alongside a German company named Auterion to cooperate on a deal that will see Auterion’s 
software, which Ukraine is already receiving, be used in far more drones than ever before. 
Specifically, this latest delivery of Auterion’s AI drones will be 10 times larger than any 
Ukraine has received from the company in the past. “So we’ve shipped thousands and we’re now 
shipping tens of thousands,” Auterion CEO Lorenz Meier said when speaking about what he 
calls an “unprecedented” deal. These new kits, which consist of compact computers dubbed 
“Skynodes” that are packed with a camera, radio, and Auterion’s software, can 
convert previously manual drones into AI-charged weapons capable of tracking moving 
targets and resisting Russian jamming efforts. “This is all well and good,” it might be easy to 
think at this point. “But what does any of this have to do with Ukraine emerging into a new global 
military superpower capable of rivaling Russia?” It’s a good question with several answers, 
though the most important one is simple: The Ukraine war has proven that drones aren’t 
the future anymore. They’re the present, and any army that wants to be taken seriously 
needs to have a huge lineup of drones it can use to tackle its enemies. The two deals just 
mentioned highlight that the U.S. understands that fact better than most. Just think about it 
for a moment. The U.S. is willing to accept up to $30 billion worth of drones in exchange for 
weaponry that it would only a few years ago have considered vastly superior to drones.
That’s big. It shows us that drones have become the 
difference-maker in modern warfare. And in this area, Ukraine is already well ahead of the 
curve when it comes to the world’s militaries. Just look at the scale of its 
drone production to see that. Back in March, Forbes reported on Zelenskyy’s 
ambition for Ukraine’s drone production. He set a target of 4.5 million drones built per 
year while pointing out that “Ukraine is now the world leader in drone warfare.” Zelenskyy 
was onto something. He and his people knew, perhaps before anybody else, how effective drones 
could be when countering everything from tanks to modern air defense systems. Time and time again, 
Ukraine has proven the importance of drones, and it has actively innovated in the field. 
It is now at a point where it’s building 4.5 million per year, meaning its drone army will be 
over four times the size of its active military, which Global Firepower says has 900,000 
active members, by the end of 2025. Ukraine is building over four drones per 
year for every one of its servicemembers. And it could be building more.
Also in March, The Kyiv Independent reported on comments made by Ukrainian 
presidential advisor Alexander Kamyshin. He pointed out that Ukraine has the capacity 
to exceed Zelenskyy’s 4.5 million target. “Now, one manufacturer can produce 4,000 such FPV drones 
per day. And that is just one manufacturer. There are more than 150 manufacturers in our 
country. Our capacity is to produce over 5 million FPV units per year,” he claimed.
The only thing holding Ukraine back from making that many drones is a lack of 
funding for its ever-growing base of manufacturers. And these comments were echoed 
by Zelenskyy a few months later at the NATO Defense Industry Forum in The Hague, when he 
claimed that Ukraine now has a manufacturing base capable of making 8 million drones annually.
“Our defense production potential has surpassed $35 billion. This includes nearly 1,000 types of 
products, from artillery and traditionally armed vehicles advanced drones by the way of all types 
and missiles. But around 40% of this potential lacks proper funding. For example, we can produce 
over 8 million drones of different types each year, but the financing allows for far fewer.”
Funding issues aside, this demonstrates one thing: Ukraine has gone all in on the very technology 
that is going to be key to making any country a military superpower, both today and in the future.
And it’s not just volume where Ukraine stands head and shoulders above everybody 
else in the drone sector. It’s also one of the world’s most 
important innovators in the drone space. A perfect example of that innovation 
is thanks to an interview The War Zone, or TWZ, conducted with Deborah Fairlamb, 
co-founder of Green Flag Ventures. A seasoned technology investment professional, 
Fairlamb has lived in Kyiv for many years, and throughout the Ukraine war she has been 
channeling significant capital into the very drone‑related startups that Ukraine now relies 
on to rapidly advance its defense capabilities. During the interview, Fairlamb brings up one of 
her most recent investments. “We invested in a company called Swarmer that is doing autonomy 
and swarming capabilities,” she tells TWZ. “It is a software that can be plugged into a 
variety of drones, whether bigger or smaller or fixed-wing, that can then go out and perform the 
operations that are programmed into the software.” It’s products like this and the AI software 
mentioned before that are truly setting Ukraine apart in the drone space. In Swarmer’s case, 
that technology doesn’t only involve giving Ukraine’s drones the ability to coordinate 
with one another to conduct massive attacks. It also makes those drones immune to Russia’s 
electronic warfare techniques. “The way that Swarmer and a number of other component systems 
work – especially when it comes to navigation and being able to fly in areas with very heavy 
electronic warfare and GPS denial – is that they are largely software-based. But what they 
all have is some kind of hardware plug-in or middleware that essentially allows for these 
systems to then be incorporated into any number of drone body manufacturers,” Fairlamb says.
The new tech is essentially plug-and-play. And Fairlamb says that it’s already in use, 
meaning it’s combat-tested and is likely going to become more widely used in Ukraine’s military very 
soon. Here, Ukraine showcases an understanding of a key concept that is going to help make it 
a military superpower that surpasses Russia. Sheer numbers alone aren’t enough.
Russia’s reputation as a military superpower is built on the back of it having a numbers advantage 
over almost every other military in the world, outside of the other two superpowers noted in the 
introduction to this video. Global Firepower says that Russia’s military has 1.32 million active 
personnel, making it the fifth-largest army in the world. The country comes second only 
to the United States in terms of the sheer number of aircraft it can deploy, with 4,292, 
and its depleted stockpile of 5,750 tanks is still enough to place it second, even though 
Russia has lost around 11,000 tanks in Ukraine. Russia has more self-propelled and towed 
artillery than any other nation. It also comes in number one for multiple-launch rocket 
systems, and the 419 assets its navy has places it third in that department. Numbers, numbers, 
numbers. Putin’s approach has always been that having more of everything than his opponent 
will allow him to grind out a victory. Three and a half years of the Ukraine war have 
shown that Russia’s numbers game doesn’t count for anywhere near as much as Putin thinks.
Right now, Ukraine is winning the numbers game when it comes to drone manufacturing and 
deployment. But unlike Russia, it isn’t willing to rest on its laurels. Technology like that 
being developed by Swarmer promises to make Ukraine’s massive numbers of drones more 
effective than ever before. As Russia falls back on increasingly old equipment to aid its 
poorly-trained soldiers, Ukraine is developing the sort of technology that may soon make both 
that equipment and the soldiers using it obsolete. That’s the key to the superpower race.
Russia is building plenty of drones, too. It plans to make around two million first-person-view 
drones in 2025 alone. But it’s not matching Ukraine when it comes to numbers or technological 
advancement. Russia’s drones aren’t really using complex software in the same way as Ukraine’s. 
Therein lies the difference in military philosophy between the two. Ukraine is leveraging the 
inventiveness and creativity it has shown in its defense against Putin’s forces to make its drones 
the most powerful in the world. Putin relies on the same old approach of simply making more drones 
that are technologically inferior while hoping the numbers game will play in his favor.
That approach isn’t working. Putin’s insistence on sticking with it is making 
Russia a military dinosaur in a modern age. But beyond building drones in record numbers and 
ensuring those drones are on the bleeding-edge with its technological advancements, there’s 
another aspect of Ukraine’s drone focus that will help it transform into a superpower.
The money. Coming back to the deal with the U.S. mentioned 
at the beginning of the video, think about what that deal means for a moment. The U.S. believes 
Ukraine’s drones are so good that it’s willing to purchase $30 billion worth of them, albeit as part 
of an exchange deal. Other countries are bound to follow suit, especially if the Ukraine war ends 
and Putin isn’t able to take the country. What this means is that Ukraine has the potential to 
use its drones as a massive money-maker that will benefit the other areas of its military.
According to Reuters, Ukraine is going to spend $53.7 billion on defense in 2025, which 
amounts to 26% of its gross domestic product, or GDP. In 2024, Ukraine’s total GDP was worth 
about $190.74 billion, Trading Economics reports. Placed in the context of its new deal with the 
U.S., these figures are revealing. Assuming the $30 billion figure is accurate, Ukraine is 
going to make more than half of its 2025 defense budget and a little under a sixth of its annual 
GDP back from the sale of drones to the U.S. Bear in mind that Ukraine is 
in an active state of war. It’s going to be providing the U.S. with its 
drones while it’s also using drones to fight against Russia. It’s here where Ukraine’s drone 
manufacturing comes into play. It’s making drones in such massive volumes that it can afford to sell 
what must amount to thousands of them to the U.S. Fast-forward for a moment. In an ideal world, 
Putin fails to take over Ukraine, and the war ends. Hopefully, Ukraine gets help to rebuild its 
shattered country, perhaps with Western countries forcing Russia to foot the majority of the 
bill. Ukraine will still have the massive drone manufacturing industry that it has today. That 
means it’ll be able to pump out more drones than ever before, and it won’t be actively using them.
Those drones could be sold in massive quantities thanks to Ukraine establishing how vital they 
are to every country during the Ukraine war. Billions of dollars will come pouring into 
Ukraine. And some of that money will feed into a cycle that sees Ukraine growing its 
drone manufacturing, meaning it can build and sell more drones, allowing it to make even 
more money. The rest could be poured into other areas of its military, meaning Ukraine 
strengthens across the board. So, it won’t be pure numbers and superior technology that lead to 
drones making Ukraine the next great superpower. The potential these weapons hold as money-makers 
for Ukraine reveals endless possibilities for how the country can strengthen its military further.
Over time, this cycle of reinvestment into itself might be enough to transform Ukraine into 
a superpower far more powerful than Russia, at least on the conventional warfare front.
Now, mentioned several times already has been how key the growth of Ukraine’s drone 
manufacturing sector is to the country’s evolution into a military superpower. That leads 
to another factor that is going to come into play: Ukraine’s wider defense industry.
Beyond and inclusive of drones, Ukraine’s defense sector is booming. The numbers back 
that up. In May, Ukrainian Strategic Industries Minister Herman Smetanin stood before a large 
crowd at the Second European Union, or EU, and Ukraine Defense Industry Forum in Brussels. In his 
speech, Smetanin delivered some interesting news. “Through new project agreements and partnership 
between the defense industry of Ukraine and EU, as a result of this collaboration, Ukraine’s 
defense industry has grown significantly over the past year. Our production capacity expanded 
from USD 12 billion to USD 35 billion. Today, more than 30% of weapons used by the Ukrainian 
Defense Forces are produced in Ukraine. I am truly grateful to you for your contribution.”
While Smetanin used his speech to butter up Ukraine’s partners, the real headline was the 
explosive growth of Ukraine’s defense sector in 2024. It almost tripled in size and output. 
That was a necessity due to the war with Russia, but it’s also a signal that Ukraine is working to 
become self-reliant when it comes to the weapons it’s using. Ukraine isn’t there yet. Far from it. 
Being able to produce 30% of the weapons it’s now using against Russia is a far cry from earlier 
in the war, when Ukraine survived thanks to the generosity of its Western partners.
The numbers are also getting bigger. On July 17, Defense News reported that Ukraine 
is working toward boosting domestic defense production to the point where it meets 
50% of Ukraine’s current wartime needs within the next six months. Back in April, The 
Kyiv Independent was reporting that Ukraine’s missile production had increased eight times 
over in 2024 when compared to 2023. What’s clear is growth across the board, not just in 
drone production, but in every type of weapon that Ukraine has proven is useful against 
the aging military superpower of Russia. Again, think about what this means for the future.
Just as with its drones, Ukraine will be able to build on this already impressive growth to produce 
more weapons if it succeeds in its defense against Putin’s forces. A lot of countries will want to 
buy those weapons. They’ve been forged in the fires of combat and have proven themselves to be 
effective, just like Ukraine’s drones. The cycle keeps on going. More money comes in. Ukraine’s 
defense sector grows. It establishes itself as a global leader in defense manufacturing, 
which helps it to strengthen its military. Military superpower status awaits.
Ukraine has already changed how the West thinks about war. Business Insider made that point on 
July 9, noting that Western militaries have taken note of Ukraine’s high-speed defense innovation 
and adaptation. Those militaries have also seen how effective Ukraine has been against a Russian 
military that is much larger and, on paper, far more powerful. The only thing that’s holding 
Ukraine from scaling into the superpower it has the potential to become is the funding issue 
mentioned earlier. As that issue gets solved, both by deals like the one Ukraine just created 
with the U.S. and a future in which Ukraine can sell billions of dollars of its proven weapons 
to its allies, Ukraine will only get stronger. That leads nicely to another key reason 
why Ukraine will eventually overtake Russia as a military superpower:
Strength by association. Ukraine’s ability to innovate and manufacture 
weapons has made it a very desirable partner for organizations like NATO and the EU. As far back 
as April 2023, The Guardian was reporting that former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg 
was claiming that “All NATO allies have agreed that Ukraine will become a member.” At the 
time, the membership discussion was focused more on the concept that Ukraine needed to 
become a member to ensure it had security guarantees. That hasn’t changed. But in 2025, 
NATO will want Ukraine to be a member because of all of the factors already discussed.
NATO’s stance hasn’t changed. Current NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte 
reiterated at a recent summit in Vilnius that all of NATO’s members want Ukraine,.
“When it comes to Ukraine, in Washington, there was a clear commitment by all 32 allies that 
it is an irreversible path for Ukraine to come into NATO. Not with an end date, not understanding 
this as part of a peace settlement, but clearly as a longer-term commitment by 32 allies, and 
we are building that bridge as we speak.” As for the EU, it is obviously cooperating 
heavily with Ukraine to help it defend itself against Russia. Ukraine officially applied 
for EU membership on February 28, 2022, as Putin was invading, and official accession 
negotiations have started as of June 2024. The catch in both cases, especially with NATO, 
is that these memberships are only going to come if Ukraine is able to survive its war with Russia. 
But assuming it does, and that is a big assumption that has to be made for everything covered in this 
video, the final piece of the Ukraine superpower puzzle will be in place. Being so directly 
tied to countries that have nuclear arsenals, such as France, the U.K., and especially 
the U.S., will allow Ukraine to counter the nuclear threat that is quickly becoming the 
only thing that Russia can hold over its enemy. Add the fact that membership in these 
organizations will grease the wheels of Ukraine becoming one of Europe’s largest 
defense manufacturers by bringing its combat-tested weapons into the NATO and 
EU folds. Plus, Ukraine will benefit from support as it grows its defense industry. None 
of its allies will want to see it stop what it has already started because a superpower 
Ukraine is good for the entire Western world. All of this is just one potential 
future that may be in store for Ukraine. But again, back to the big caveat mentioned 
earlier – Ukraine has to win against Russia first. Only then will it stand a chance of 
fulfilling its potential to become a military superpower that could surpass Russia.
And Ukraine’s overtaking of Russia on military terms will only happen faster if Putin 
keeps burning through Russia’s stockpiles. Russia is already on the verge of running out 
of weapons. Its Soviet arsenal is depleted, which is grinding Putin’s war machine to a 
halt. Find out more in our video and remember to