The agreement would combine General Cherry’s battlefield experience and small-drone portfolio with Patria’s production capabilities and defence technology expertise. General Cherry specialises in strike first-person-view drones, fibre-optic systems, aerial-target interceptors and fixed-wing unmanned aircraft.
The partnership comes as drones, sensors and electronic warfare take a larger role in military operations. Patria is developing unmanned systems within an architecture that connects sensors, communications, data, artificial intelligence and operating platforms.
“Unmanned defence systems are central to the future of defence, which is why we have invested in development of unmanned systems for years as part of our operations,” said Mikko Leino, Executive Vice President of Patria’s Defence and Weapon Systems business area. “The partnership with General Cherry further reinforces Patria’s expertise in unmanned defence systems and drone development.”
“It is a great honour for us to begin a productive, long-term and effective partnership with Patria, one of the leading defence companies,” said Stanislav Hryshyn, Co-Founder of General Cherry. “We believe that our unique battlefield experience, combined with Patria’s technological capabilities, can help drive a fundamental transformation of the European and global security architecture.”
“There are many challenges and tasks ahead, and we are confident that we will overcome them together,” Hryshyn said. Patria has been an active participant in Ukraine’s defence research and development ecosystem for several years.
The Finnish company has expanded its product offering and expertise in unmanned systems. Its current work includes next-generation capabilities and artificial intelligence-enabled technology for unmanned aircraft.
