Germany is negotiating a deal with Ukraine to purchase Bars jet-powered drones, a German official with knowledge of the matter told the Kyiv Independent on Oct. 24.
Berlin is discussing the deal with Kyiv as Germany plans to buy thousands of deep-strike weapons from European arms companies, as initially reported by Bloomberg on Oct. 23.
According to officials Bloomberg spoke with, Germany’s future strategic thinking involves using masses of cheap missiles to overwhelm enemy air defenses. Currently, Germany’s army only operates midrange Taurus cruise missiles, while the U.S. warned its allies to expect years-long delays for missile deliveries.
The Bars jet powered drone has a range of 1,000 kilometers and can reach speeds of up to 700 kilometers per hour. The manufacturer of the drones is not publicly known for security reasons.
The Ukrainian army launches around 2,000 of these drones per month, targeting Russian oil refineries, power plants, and substations, a representative of the company told Ukrainian media outlet NV in September.
Germany and Ukraine signed a deal to jointly produce Bars in July 2026 as part of the Build with Ukraine initiative. Under the first stage of the deal, Germany would finance the production of the drones, while all manufactured equipment would be sent to Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
Recently, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Bars have proven to be one of the most effective interceptors against Russian jet-powered drones, as Moscow escalates attacks on Ukrainian cities, Ukrinform reported on Oct. 10.
Germany has emerged as the biggest foreign partner in Ukraine’s burgeoning defense tech sector. A September report from the Kyiv School of Economics Institute found that there were 36 joint ventures between Ukrainian and German firms, as Berlin prioritizes deep-strike technology and intelligence.