{"id":119045,"date":"2026-03-11T09:14:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T12:14:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/898714331"},"modified":"2026-03-11T09:14:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T12:14:28","slug":"trump-admin-rejected-chance-to-partner-with-ukraine-on-anti-iran-drone-tech-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/03\/11\/trump-admin-rejected-chance-to-partner-with-ukraine-on-anti-iran-drone-tech-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Admin Rejected Chance to Partner With Ukraine on Anti-Iran Drone Tech: Report"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Trump<\/p>\n

AP Photo\/Ben Curtis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

President Donald Trump\u2019s<\/strong> administration rejected an offer from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky<\/strong> to partner on technology capable of defending against Iranian drones last year \u2014 the same defense tech the U.S. is now seeking to acquire, reported Axios on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The offer came during Zelensky\u2019s visit to Washington, D.C. last August, and included a PowerPoint presentation seemingly designed to flatter Trump, according to an Axios report<\/a> by Marc Caputo<\/strong>, Barak Ravid<\/strong>, and Colin<\/strong> Demarest<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Out of necessity in their fight for survival against Russia\u2019s invasion, the Ukrainian military has developed a high level of expertise in defending against the \u201cShahed\u201d drones that Iran sold to Russia, including \u201ca low-cost interceptor drone, among other sensors and air defenses,\u201d reported Axios.<\/p>\n

In a closed-door meeting between Trump and Zelensky last August<\/a>, the Ukrainian officials gave a PowerPoint presentation labeled \u201cMaking US-Ukraine Drone Industry Great,\u201d an apparent nod to Trump\u2019s \u201cMake America Great Again\u201d campaign sloganeering, and framed the proposal like a business deal that would boost U.S. manufacturing jobs, to appeal to the author of The Art of the Deal<\/em> and star of The Apprentice<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The presentation included a dire prediction about Iran being able to further improve the Shahed\u2019s capabilities and proposed the creation of \u201cdrone combat hubs\u201d to be located at U.S. military bases throughout Turkey and the Middle East, ready to deploy against Iranian drone strikes.<\/p>\n

According to a Ukrainian official who spoke to Axios, Ukraine had estimated they could build up to 20 million of their interceptor drones but had the resources \u201cto produce only 50% of what we can produce,\u201d so the plan was for the U.S. \u201cto invest the other 50% and have a share of the production.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUkraine will help unleash the American drone dominance,\u201d the PowerPoint stated, phrasing the proposed partnership as an expression of gratitude for American support in their war against Russia.<\/p>\n

\u201cUkraine is ready to give back to the US for its past and future security assistance,\u201d and \u201cprovide the US a privileged access to purchasing Ukraine\u2019s best drones and localizing their production,\u201d the PowerPoint said. \u201cUkraine offers to America the best of what we procure for ourselves\u2026Ukraine can help the US build an entire drone ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n

A specific advantage of the Ukrainian plan was the cost, the Axios report noted. The Iranian Shahed drones cost between $20,000 and $50,000 and the Ukrainians\u2019 interceptor drones are \u201ceven cheaper\u201d \u2014 a far more cost-effective defense than the American Patriot or THAAD missile systems, which take years to build and have price tags in the millions of dollars<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Because of the low cost and ease of manufacture, Iran has been able to send swarms of Shaheds to respond to the U.S. and Israeli strikes. So far seven American service members have been killed<\/a> as a result.<\/p>\n

But at the time of their meeting last August, the Trump administration was unconvinced of the necessity of partnering with the Ukrainians on drones.<\/p>\n

\u201cSnubbing Ukraine\u2019s offer ranks as one of the biggest tactical miscalculations by the administration since the bombing of Iran began Feb. 28,\u201d Axios reported, citing two U.S. officials as sources.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s a tactical error or a mistake we made leading up to this [war in Iran], this was it,\u201d said one of the officials.<\/p>\n

Now, the U.S. is actively seeking to obtain more of the Ukrainian drone defense tech, needing to catch up both to defend American service members and military assets and those of allies in the region, who have also been targeted by Iranian strikes.<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

… technology<\/span> capable of defending against Iranian drones last year \u00e2\u0080\u0094 the same defense tech<\/span> … more of the Ukrainian drone defense tech<\/span>, needing to catch up both …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119045\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}