Norway to build Ukrainian drones

Norway and Ukraine signed an agreement in Kyiv on April 27 to begin producing Ukrainian drones on Norwegian soil. (regjeringen.no) (mod.gov.ua) The deal is the first Norwegian-Ukrainian project under the “Build with Ukraine” initiative. Norway’s ambassador in Kyiv, Lars Ragnar Aalerud Hansen, signed with Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, Sergiy Boyev. (regjeringen.no) Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said the partners plan to manufacture several thousand mid-strike drones in Norway for Ukraine’s armed forces. The ministry said the first systems made in Norway could be delivered as early as summer 2026. (mod.gov.ua) (pravda.com.ua) Norway said the arrangement is meant to turn Ukrainian battlefield designs into production inside a NATO country with a larger industrial base. The agreement also covers broader industrial cooperation and research work. (regjeringen.no) (mod.gov.ua) The drone pact builds on a defense partnership declaration signed in Oslo on April 14 by President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. That declaration included support for joint drone production and deeper defense-industrial ties. (ukrinform.net) (kyivindependent.com) Ukrainska Pravda reported that Norway will finance the project and plans to allocate more than $1.5 billion this year to buy Ukrainian-made weapons for Ukraine’s military. That funding detail was not included in Norway’s own announcement. (pravda.com.ua) (regjeringen.no) Defense Minister Tore O. Sandvik said supporting Ukraine is tied to Norway’s own security. Ukraine has framed the project as a way to secure drone supply while spreading production beyond the range of Russian strikes. (regjeringen.no) (kyivindependent.com) The immediate test is speed: whether factories in Norway can turn a Kyiv signature into drone deliveries by summer. Both governments are presenting the project as the start of a longer production pipeline, not a one-off order. (mod.gov.ua) (regjeringen.no)