Italy is looking at drone production with Ukraine.
This was confirmed by the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during the meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome on April 15, continuing her diplomatic tour in Europe. Meloni reiterated the intention to strengthen defense cooperation with Ukraine and in this context expressed Italy’s interest “to develop joint production, especially in the field of drones.”
The hypothesis fits into a context where Kyiv has developed advanced skills in military technologies, tested on the battlefield since the Russian invasion in February 2022.
The conflict between Moscow and Kyiv is indeed a “war of iteration,” where both sides refine their drones and interceptors capable of shooting them down, and each tries to improve on the latest innovations of the other. This has given Ukrainian companies an advantage over foreign competitors, who did not have direct contact with soldiers on the ground.
Italian interest fits into this technological development framework. Among the most concrete hypotheses is the involvement of Leonardo. The Italian aerospace and defense giant is among the main European players in the defense sector and recently, precisely in the drone field, has launched a joint venture with the Turkish company Baykar.
All the details.
POLITICAL AND STRATEGIC SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE
“In these four years, Europe’s and Italy’s position has always remained the same: alongside Kyiv, its people, and its institutions. We believe that supporting Ukraine is not only a moral duty but also a strategic necessity, because at stake are not only Kyiv’s dignity, freedom, and independence but also Europe’s security in the broadest sense of the term,” declared Prime Minister Meloni at the end of the meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky.
STRENGTHENING DEFENSE COOPERATION
“We continue full-spectrum support for Ukraine. Today we also discussed extensively how to strengthen our cooperation in defense matters. Italy, in particular, is very interested in developing joint production, especially in the field of drones, a sector in which we know well that Ukraine has become a leading nation in recent years,” explained Meloni.
For his part, Zelensky stated that he is “working with interested countries” for the “protection against Shahed attacks and their defense.” Speaking at Palazzo Chigi, the Kyiv leader mentioned an “important interest from Italy” in the drone cooperation program: “We agreed with Giorgia Meloni that our teams will work on the program’s details.”
“We absolutely need additional air defense systems. They are vital for us, and we can work together on the production of these systems,” the Ukrainian leader added.
THE “DRONE DEAL” PROGRAM
During his visit to Rome, Zelensky presented what he calls the Drone Deal, an agreement aimed at sharing Ukrainian military expertise with allied partners in exchange for weapon systems not produced domestically, such as Patriot missiles.
In the last four years, Ukraine has developed advanced capabilities in drone design and use, employed both to contain costs and to compensate for the shortage of traditional defense systems. In 2024, it produced more than 2 million drones, aiming to produce 4 million in 2025.
THE AGREEMENT WITH BERLIN ON DRONES
Earlier this week, during Zelensky’s visit to Berlin, Germany and Ukraine reached an agreement on defense cooperation. The deal also includes an agreement on drone production which, according to the Ukrainian president, could become one of the largest of its kind in Europe. “In the first phase, 5,000 drones will be produced for Ukrainian defenders,” specified the Ukrainian Defense Minister.
For its part, German Defense Minister Pistorius stated that the project will create a joint venture to supply thousands of drones to the Ukrainian army. Berlin also agreed to invest several hundred million euros to finance so-called deep strike capabilities, Reuters further notes.
Now Kyiv aims to reach the same agreement with Rome.
THE LEONARDO HYPOTHESIS
According to Repubblica, “the hypothesis on the table would be to start co-production of drones with Leonardo, the Italian company that recently saw a leadership change decided by the Meloni government: Lorenzo Mariani replacing Roberto Cingolani. It had already been discussed last December during Zelensky’s previous visit to Rome, as Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said. The volume of this co-production is unclear, but the timing of this industrial partnership should not be long.”
At the same time, it should not be forgotten that the Italian Leonardo already has a drone partnership with Baykar. Last June, the Piazza Monte Grappa group and the Turkish drone company launched a joint venture based in Italy dedicated to the design, development, production, and maintenance of unmanned aerial systems. Named LBA Systems, the joint venture will develop and produce drones combining Baykar’s platforms with Leonardo’s expertise in electronics and sensors.
THE NEXT STEPS IN COOPERATION
Finally, the operational details of the drone production collaboration between Italy and Ukraine remain to be defined. The technical bodies of the two countries will work in the coming weeks to define the project, aiming to translate political interest into concrete industrial cooperation.
