Germany boosts military aid, Ukraine develops sound-tracking drone tech. Serhiy Zgurets’ column

Germany allocates over €400 million for Ukrainian long-range drone production

It’s worth starting with new details about the agreement between Germany and Ukraine reached two days ago in Berlin, particularly regarding the supply of long-range strike systems for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This includes the potential delivery of Taurus missiles with a range of over 500 km, confirmed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz. However, Germany will primarily fund the production of long-range weapons already being manufactured and deployed by Ukraine’s Defense Forces. Since no additional personnel training is required, the existing defense production capacities in Ukraine will be used efficiently.

Yesterday, Welt published new details about Germany’s military aid package. It mentions three key projects. First is the Liutyi UAV, with a range of 1,100 km and a 75 kg warhead. The second project Germany is ready to fund is the Bars drone missile. While its design remains unknown, publications say it’s similar in characteristics to the Palianytsia drone missile, with a range of up to 800 km. The third project is the Flamingo interceptor drones, with a range of 30 to 50 km. These are already used by Ukraine’s Armed Forces to intercept Russian reconnaissance drones. Germany is allocating €400 million from its €5 billion military aid package for these three projects. Additionally, Ukraine is seeking co-financing for its defense initiatives totaling around $30 billion. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently stated that this funding is also needed to ramp up missile production, particularly the ballistic missile program.

European arms manufacturers analyze battlefield weapon use in Ukraine

Military expert and editor of Ukrainian Defense Review at Defense Express, Anton Mikhnenko, spoke about an event held in Italy focused on electronic warfare and electronic intelligence systems. Another event took place in Poland, dedicated to innovative developments in the defense industry. Both events were quite different from each other. In Italy, the progress of Ukraine’s partners in electronic warfare and intelligence was assessed. Mikhnenko noted that Ukraine’s partners are closely monitoring developments in electronic warfare. There are interesting solutions they are trying to implement, including electronic intelligence systems on board platforms and robotic platforms. However, Ukraine remains at the forefront of these technologies. Today, Ukraine has many innovative solutions not available to its partners. Still, the partners have an advantage in creating the component base.

The European Defence Innovation Days 2025 took place in Poland. This event was dedicated to innovative developments currently present in Europe. The European Commission observed how companies operate in the arms and military equipment market and what they offer. Mikhnenko explained that partners have solutions for using UAVs and maritime drones, as well as for creating new materials for drones. Additionally, Europe is actively studying the tools the Ukrainian Defense Forces use on the battlefield, with counter-drone technologies being the main trend today.

European defense sector struggles to grasp modern warfare challenges

Anton Mikhnenko added that the main question from European manufacturers was whether a particular system is actually used on the battlefield. For most manufacturers, the tools used on the battlefield are considered the most effective. They are also often interested in how these systems perform under certain conditions, especially in complex electronic warfare environments. However, Mikhnenko noted that Europeans do not fully understand what is really happening on the battlefield. They need to realize that it is already necessary to develop weapon systems that will be effective in 6–10 months. In other words, they must work on what will be needed in the future.

Ukrainian Zvook system uses acoustic sensors to detect FPV drones

Officer Maryan Sulym of the 125th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade in Lviv said the main success of the Zvook project team is a change in approach that allows detecting drones by sound. This is a very serious threat on the front, including fiber-optic drones. Sulym emphasized that there are few projects today capable of detecting drones in this way. The Zvook project helps detect drones at distances over 200 meters. The officer explained that using Zvook’s acoustic sensors involves creating networks, so even at such distances they demonstrate high effectiveness.

Maryan Sulym emphasized that Zvook’s acoustic sensors today are primarily about situational awareness and helping personnel detect enemy drones. With integration into situational awareness systems, it is already possible to use electronic warfare (EW) tools to suppress drones. In other words, EW means can already suppress enemy drones detected by Zvook systems.

Regarding countering fiber-optic drones, Zvook systems will be integrated with interceptor drones in the future. However, this requires more resources and means for the Zvook team. Sulym also said that increasing the detection range of enemy drones today makes little sense. According to him, it is more effective to increase the number of sensors for better detail, including quieter targets. Accordingly, the company is focused on scaling up the production of Zvook sensors. They are also actively working on building a sound database of all Russian unmanned systems.

The Zvook team has already done significant work in this area. Specifically, when it comes to jet engines, different models and modifications of such engines will not evade detection by Zvook sensors. The AI model recognizes what a jet engine sounds like. The same applies to various modifications of Shahed drones. If it’s a gasoline engine, regardless of the silencers installed by the Russians on these drones, their sound signature changes only slightly, and the Zvook system continues to operate in automatic mode.