Germany is financing the procurement of 50,000 Ukrainian-made Shrike strike drones under a €90 million order, according to Reuters, joining a broader Western shift toward funding weapons produced directly by Ukraine’s defence industry.
The contract combines airframes mass-produced by Ukrainian manufacturer SkyFall with guidance software from U.S. defence-technology company Auterion.
Germany is not pioneering the model. Denmark launched direct foreign financing of Ukrainian defence production in 2024 under what became known as the “Danish model,” initially funding Bohdana artillery systems before expanding support to drones and missiles. Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and proceeds from frozen Russian assets together financed about €538 million in Ukrainian-made weapons that year.
The German order also follows the July 7–8 NATO summit in Ankara, where European Allies and Canada pledged €70 billion in military support for Ukraine in 2026.
The pattern is coming into focus. Western governments are no longer just drawing on their own arsenals to arm Ukraine; they are paying to build weapons inside Ukraine itself, where four years of war have turned the front line into a testing ground that Europe’s own defence industry cannot match for speed.
