Save lives in Ukraine. Build sovereign drone capability in Europe.
These are two missions that go hand in hand. We can protect Ukrainian operators today, and simultaneously build USV capability in the Netherlands and Europe for the years ahead.
A direct request from Ukrainian Armed Forces
We started Aquadrone because Ukrainian naval-drone operators asked us to. The need was immediate and concrete: save lives by replacing crewed missions with unmanned ones, wherever the risk to the crew is unacceptable. That request still drives every design decision we make.
We will continue to support Ukraine for as long as the support is needed. Ukraine is not a phase for us. Every platform generation continues to be offered to Ukrainian units, and the company is structured so that capacity and learning flow back to the front line.
The need for sovereign drone capability
Drone technology is the defining military and industrial shift of this decade. To be able to keep up to the rapid technological development in the current defence landscape, the Netherlands and Europe need to build its own capabilities, rather than outsource the knowledge or the supply chain to anyone else.
By developing something that is actually being used in Ukraine, and getting feedback directly from the end users, we can quickly iterate new adaptations to the design. The work in Ukraine is, simultaneously, a deliberate investment in Dutch and European security, defence capability, technical innovation, and industrial base.
Four returns on the same investment
Security
Sovereign maritime-drone capability for the Netherlands and Europe.
Defence
Field-tested hardware and operational doctrine, shared back with allied operators and partners.
Innovation
Important lessons for European unmanned maritime systems.
Economy
Dutch engineering, Dutch production, Dutch IP. Jobs and supply chain anchored at home.
Commitment to Ukraine
Aquadrone exists because Ukrainian operators needed something nobody was building. As long as that need exists, we keep building — and keep delivering. Every platform generation will continue to be offered to Ukrainian units, through Stichting Protect Ukraine. Profits and production capacity are routed back into more units for the front line.