Evgeniy Khmara, Ukraine’s Minister of Defence, has spoken with Catherine Vautrin, France’s Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs regarding air defence capabilities.
Khmara thanked France for additional systems to counter aerial targets and for other vital support for Ukraine. The ministers discussed further steps to strengthen Ukraine’s air defence capabilities, paying particular attention to countering jet-powered Shahed drones. The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine says Ukraine and France are already working together to identify effective solutions for destroying such drones.
“Ukraine is interested both in additional deliveries of systems that have already proven effective and in developing new solutions,” the ministry said in a 18 September statement. “One of the priorities is low-cost interceptor drones.”
Khmara and Vautrin also discussed implementing joint defence industry projects and the FREYJA anti-ballistic initiative.
Ukraine’s defence minister also met with Slovenia’s Minister of Defence Valentin Hajdinjak last week. One of the topics discussed was the intensification of russian strikes on civilian targets using ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones. They also spoke about specific areas for mutually beneficial defence cooperation, including joint ventures, implementing the Drone Deal, testing solutions under real combat conditions and sharing Ukraine’s experience in adapting to modern warfare.
Meanwhile, Canada has announced a new support package for Ukraine, including air defence interceptors.
For more information
Ministry of Defence of Ukraine
Image: Evgeniy Khmara, Ukraine’s Minister of Defence, discusses Ukraine’s air defence with Catherine Vautrin, France’s Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs. (Ministry of Defence of Ukraine)
The September issue of the 2026 Unmanned Airspace Global Counter-UAS Systems Directory is now available. The guide is the world’s only comprehensive, continually updated directory of global C-UAS companies and systems. It itemises over 1,000 C-UAS products and services with performance details, company sales and partnerships arrangements. It is updated every month and broken down into niche sub-sectors (net-capture, missiles, intercept drones, detectors etc) to give C-UAS procurement and industry personnel a unique perspective of global C-UAS technical capabilities and market positions. It is available in word, PDF and excel formats and Unmanned Airspace readers are eligible for a range of discounts. For more information about the Directory please contact the editor Philip Butterworth-Hayes at philip@unmannedairspace.info.