'Modern Ukrainian technology, battle-tested' — Zelensky unveils 1st drone produced by German-Ukrainian joint venture
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb. 13 unveiled the first strike drone produced by a newly launched German-Ukrainian joint venture ahead of the Munich Security Conference, as he said in a statement published on X.
The launch marks the first Ukrainian drone production line in Germany and is part of Kyiv's broader effort to expand arms manufacturing in Europe, as the war with Russia drives sustained demand for unmanned systems.
"Today, I received the first jointly made attack drone. We saw the production line and the first flight of the drone," Zelensky wrote on X.
"This is modern Ukrainian technology. Battle-tested. Powered by AI. It will strike, it will scout, it will protect our soldiers," the president added.
Zelensky, accompanied by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, visited Quantum Frontline Industries (QFI), a joint venture between Germany's Quantum Systems and Ukraine's Frontline Robotics.
During the visit, the Ukrainian-German Linza 3.0 multi-purpose drone was demonstrated and then handed over to Zelensky.
The facility is expected to produce up to 10,000 drones within a year, all of which will be delivered to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, according to the president.
The Linza 3.0 drone, developed by Frontline Robotics, is the latest version of the company's multi-purpose platform. The manufacturer said it features AI-enabled visual-inertial navigation, can carry up to 4 kilograms of payload, operate up to 15 kilometers (9 miles), and can stay in the air for up to 60 minutes.
The parties announced the start of joint production in December 2025, and Ukraine plans to open 10 more joint ventures by the end of 2026, Zelensky said. The president did not specify which countries the ventures would be located in.
The German production line builds on broader defense agreements signed between Kyiv and Berlin in December, when Germany committed 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in new defense deals.
The package included long-term sustainment support for Patriot air defense systems currently used by Ukraine, procurement of Ukrainian-made drones, and co-production initiatives between Quantum Systems and Frontline Robotics.
Zelensky previously announced that Ukrainian drone production would expand into Europe, noting that similar production lines are already operating in the U.K.
In October 2025, Zelensky instructed the Defense Ministry to launch a "controlled export" program for Ukrainian weapons, aiming to export surplus military equipment and reinvest profits into urgently needed systems.
Ukraine's drone industry has grown rapidly since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, with hundreds of companies producing reconnaissance and strike systems that now play a central role on the battlefield.
Establishing production lines in partner countries allows Ukrainian-developed systems to be manufactured at scale while deepening defense-industrial cooperation with European allies.
