In Denmark, in the presence of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraines Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov and Swift Beat, LLC CEO Eric Schmidt signed a memorandum on a long-term strategic partnership.The document provides for expanding the companys production capacity, with modern drones to be supplied to Ukraine on a priority basis, under special terms and at cost price.Thanks to this partnership, the number of essential unmanned systems will increase significantly.
This includes hundreds of thousands of drones this year, with further volume growth planned for 2026.The company will produce interceptor drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine to destroy Russian UAVs and missiles, quadcopters for reconnaissance, surveillance, fire adjustment, and logistics, as well as medium-class strike drones for engaging enemy targets.Development of new innovative solutions is also planned including interceptors for cruise and ballistic missiles, automated turrets, and reconnaissance platforms.Swift Beat, LLC is an American company with a significant presence in Ukraine.
It specializes in the production of autonomous AI-powered drones and actively collaborates with Ukrainian engineers and the military, conducting drone testing on Ukrainian territory.According tothe Ukrainian government, Swift Beat isexpected tomanufacture hundreds ofthousands ofdrones this year alone, with that number set toincrease in2026.The company reportedly specializes inAI-integrated UAVs and already has asubstantial presence inUkraine.Corporate Origins and Hidden StructuresSwift Beat isowned byVolya Robotics O, acompany registered inTallinn, Estonia, whose sole beneficiary isEric Schmidt.Interestingly, Swift Beat was atone point rebranded asWhite Storka name that appeared inpublic reports in2024inconnection with the development oflow-cost, AI-enabled drones for Ukraine.Though Swift Beat itself had not previously appeared inthe public domain, White Stork was linked toongoing UAV development efforts.Schmidt, who has personally visited Ukrainian production sites and test ranges, isassociated with anetwork ofcompanies that appear tobestructured tolimit public visibility.Leadership and BackgroundEric Schmidt, the CEO ofSwift Beat, isbest known for his role asGoogles CEO from 2001to2011.
Healso served asChairman ofthe Department ofDefense Innovation Board between 2016and 2020, and later asamember ofthe USNational Security Commission onArtificial Intelligence.Since the beginning ofRussias full-scale invasion ofUkraine in2022, Schmidt has publicly supported the use ofdrones aslow-cost, high-impact weapons.
Hehas also funded the Ukrainian startup accelerator D3 and held meetings with officials from Ukraines government.Itremains unclear whether manufacturing facilities will belocated inDenmarkwhere the agreement was signedor inEstonia, where the parent company isregistered.For now, little public information isavailable about the companys current product line orproduction status.
However, the scale ofthe planned collaboration suggests that Swift Beat will play asignificant role inUkraines drone capabilities inthe near future.Sources: United24Media; President of Ukraine