Motivation remains high in Latvia to continue efforts to aid Ukraine, with the country’s small size encouraging specialization. This is best seen in the recently announced Drone Coalition, which will see Riga lead allied efforts to deliver much-needed unmanned systems to Kyiv.
The Baltic states have been at the forefront of supporting Ukraine since the onset of the Russian invasion. Beyond financial aid to the Ukrainian military, these nations are striving to create innovative solutions, drawing from their experiences as small economies that must seek niches and specializations. They are now finding ways to amplify their impact despite relatively limited resources compared to larger countries. In this context, Estonia initiated the IT Coalition, leveraging its strengths in new technologies and digitization. At the same time, Lithuania, together with Iceland, leads the Demining Capability Coalition. Latvia's unique contribution is the establishment and co-leadership (with the United Kingdom) of the Drone Coalition, aimed at supporting this increasingly significant sector of the defence industry.
On May 28th in Riga, the Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa and Minister of Defence Andris Sprūds inaugurated the Drone Summit – an international conference that brought together over 1,000 participants and approximately 100 companies from dozens of countries. The conference served as a platform for knowledge exchange among experts, policymakers, business representatives and academics, providing an opportunity to summarize the achievements of the Drone Coalition to date.
Initiation
On February 14th 2024, during a meeting within the Ramstein format, an alliance of 50+ countries aimed at assisting Ukraine’s defence, Latvia and the United Kingdom initiated the formation of the Drone Coalition. Throughout the course of a year, additional countries joined: Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Poland and Ukraine. In total, the coalition is made up of 18 countries. It remains open to new members who may join at any time. The goals of this new initiative were defined as ensuring a stable supply of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Ukraine that meet battlefield requirements; supporting drone production in the West; and enhancing capabilities in this area.
However, during the Drone Summit in Riga, it was repeatedly emphasized that the coalition also serves as a platform for knowledge and experience sharing, and for establishing contacts (including business links as the conference was accompanied by equipment exhibitions) that will help western countries develop their own unmanned systems sectors and counter-drone systems.
The initiative does not impose specific reporting requirements on participants regarding activities within the coalition. When it comes to the total number of drones delivered to Ukraine under the coalition, available data are limited. Nevertheless, individual announcements and information from member states provide a general insight into the scale of each country's involvement. During the conference in Riga, Sprūds stated that coalition member states are reluctant to share information about the number of drones supplied to Ukraine. However, it is estimated that approximately 100,000 such devices may have been delivered. Plans are in place to deliver one million FPV (first-person view) drones to Ukraine, the most commonly used now in combat.
In this context, Latvia stands out for its transparency, publishing data on its achievements within the coalition on the official website of the ministry of defence and in ministerial communications. The Latvian government plans to allocate ten million euros annually to the coalition. However, in the first year of the coalition's operation, this amount was doubled. A similar sum is planned for 2025. According to the defence ministry, Latvia delivered 5,000 drones to Ukraine in 2024. In January 2025, it was announced that the coalition intends to supply Ukraine with 30,000 drones, 12,000 of which will be made in Latvia. The country’s support is valued at 17 million euros. Overall, these drones are expected to reach Ukraine in the first half of the year.
Sprūds believes that the Drone Coalition is continuously evolving and is one of the most dynamic formats supporting Ukraine in its defence against Russian aggression: “The international Drone Coalition is becoming increasingly stronger, we will be able to deliver more drones to Ukraine while simultaneously strengthening the defence industries of Latvia, the EU, and NATO countries." Evidence of the coalition's growth includes interest in joining from additional countries. Belgium (present at the Drone Summit) and Turkey are expected to become members soon, bringing the coalition's total to 20 countries.
Division of responsibilities
While the overall coordination of the Drone Coalition remains a shared responsibility between Latvia and the United Kingdom, each country has taken on distinct roles to ensure the coalition’s effective functioning and the delivery of results for Ukraine. Latvia oversees the day-to-day management of the coalition’s activities and contributes significantly through direct drone deliveries, training ranges for testing, and facilitating local production capabilities. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom plays a key role in driving procurement and operational frameworks essential for scaling up support to Ukraine.
As part of its responsibilities, the UK launched an industry competition on behalf of the Drone Coalition to develop and procure drones. The first competition attracted 265 bids from various manufacturers, demonstrating strong interest. Two Latvian manufacturers were among the winners of the competition. Following this successful tender, at least three more were organized – two in 2024 and another in 2025. Ukrainian manufacturers were allowed to participate in subsequent tenders. Each tender focused on specific criteria. For instance, one targeted the production of large FPV drones, while another focused on tactical-level multirotor reconnaissance drones encompassing all ground elements. In addition, the UK has spearheaded the establishment of the Drone Coalition Common Fund, a mechanism designed to enable the joint procurement of drones for Ukraine. This fund aims to ensure the efficient and timely delivery of equipment while harnessing industrial capacities across coalition member states. Initially, the Netherlands, the UK, Latvia, New Zealand and Sweden pledged over 45 million euros to the Common Fund, with further contributions expected. On the occasion of the first anniversary of the Drone Coalition, it was announced that the Fund had allocated 80 million euros.
Additionally, on July 10th 2024, the British Defence Secretary John Healey joined coalition partners in signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that defines the coalition’s core activities, governance structures and procurement mechanisms. This MoU formalizes the commitment of coalition members to streamline processes and increase the scale of drone support to Ukraine.
Latvia – Europe’s drone leader?
Latvia's activities within the Drone Coalition are not the extent of its efforts in this sector. During the Drone Summit, Sprūds confirmed the establishment of a Competence Centre for Autonomous Systems, commonly referred to as the Drone Competence Centre, which is set to open this autumn: “Strengthening the ‘drone army’ and enhancing drone capabilities within the national armed forces is one of the top priorities for Latvia’s defence sector,” Sprūds emphasized. The centre aims to promote the wider integration of unmanned systems in Latvia’s defence strategy, foster domestic drone production, stimulate technological innovation, and deepen international partnerships.
The Drone Competence Centre is envisioned as a platform that bridges the operational needs of the armed forces with industry capabilities and international supply chains. Notably, its mandate extends across the entire spectrum of unmanned systems – encompassing air, land and maritime drones, as well as various counter-drone solutions. The long-term ambition is for the Drone Competence Centre to evolve into an internationally recognized, European-level institution, attracting experts, funding and partnerships from across the continent. Modris Kairišs, Commander of the Air Force Training Centre, was announced as the head of the newly established centre.
Attending an event like the Drone Summit, one might get the impression that both the EU and Ukraine are gaining an advantage over Russia, and the general situation in this sector appears good or even very good. While there are assurances that greater effort and investment are needed, it is important to acknowledge statements and observations that provide a more comprehensive picture.
Ukraine's deputy minister of defence, Valerii Churkin, pointed out that perceptions pointing to Kyiv winning the drone war are “only partially true”. Despite progress made in this field (with allies’ support), the deputy minister stated that “Ukraine lags behind Russia technologically regarding drone development and production.” The challenges are multifaceted in this area. For instance, Ukraine depends on component supplies from other countries and will require significant time to achieve independence in this sector.
Another issue is the scale of needs. “Ukrainians are very, very smart engineers; their soldiers are resourceful and innovative, but the scale just isn’t there,” Jonathan Lippert, the president of Defense Tech for Ukraine, told me at the Drone Summit. “Western governments are sending a lot of money to Ukraine, even the spending for just 155mm artillery shells costs a fortune. With the scale of this war, supplying everything costs huge amounts of money, so sometimes there’s just not enough left over to fundinnovation at the level we’d expect. There are also a lot of non-Ukrainians innovating in Ukraine. There’s a whole ecosystem of people trying to help Ukraine, and people in Ukraine are developing new technologies. I’m sure there are improvements that can be made. But they’re developing a robust ecosystem of incubators that’s evolving to support this process, and it’s getting better.”
Logic of war or peace
Discrepancies persist regarding the perception of threats among various Western European countries. Belgium's minister of defence, Theo Francken, stated during the Drone Summit that in Belgian society “there is no sense of urgency regarding the war and there is still hesitancy to spend two per cent of GDP for defence.”
Is the Drone Coalition doing enough to support Ukraine? It makes little sense to forcibly argue that it is, especially when representatives of member states acknowledge that the needs are significantly greater than what the coalition has delivered so far. However, its significance extends beyond merely providing equipment (which is crucial). The coalition serves as an additional means of pressuring national, EU and international structures to improve the situation concerning procedures, procurement issues and investment efforts. Experiences and conclusions from such initiatives should translate into actions in other areas and collectively change the approach of EU and NATO members.
The knowledge and experience flowing from the Ukrainians to EU member states and the western industrial sector are also of immense value. During the Drone Summit, the Dutch defence minister, Ruben Brekelmans, remarked that “we are currently neither in a wartime nor a peacetime logic,” while Ukraine’s deputy prime minister emphasized that what is needed is a “full-time-war logic”. Which of these logics ultimately prevails will be as decisive for Ukraine’s victory as progress in developing new drone technologies.