The agreement followed a ceremony hosted by the Embassy of Ukraine in the United States. UForce USA and ReconCraft also plan to cooperate on the U.S. Drone Dominance competition and related programs.
The U.S. effort will be led by Sean Plankey, chief executive officer of UForce USA. Plankey most recently served as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security, with oversight of the United States Coast Guard.
He was also twice nominated by the President of the United States to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. UForce said the partnership is part of its effort to make its unmanned systems available to U.S. customers.
Those systems span aerial, maritime and ground platforms. The company also develops autonomy software and command-and-control technologies.
The Magura family is central to the agreement with ReconCraft. UForce said the autonomous surface vessels contributed to the destruction of more than a dozen Russian warships in the Black Sea.
The company also said its portfolio includes the first autonomous surface vessel to successfully down manned helicopters and fighter aircraft in combat. UForce is now seeking to bring those capabilities into the U.S. defense market.
“Today’s combat environments show that autonomous warfighting capabilities are a must-have. UForce is exceptionally positioned to deliver capabilities already tested by some of the world’s most sophisticated militaries under the most demanding battlefield conditions,” said Oleg Rogynskyy, CEO of UForce. “Through this partnership with ReconCraft, these combat-proven capabilities will become available to the U.S., combining Ukrainian battlefield innovation with American manufacturing excellence.”
ReconCraft builds combatant craft used by U.S. and partner Special Operations Forces. The companies said the partnership could shorten the path to fielding by adapting an existing combat-tested system instead of starting with a new design.
“This partnership demonstrates what’s possible when American manufacturing and combat-proven innovation come together,” said Sean Plankey, CEO of UForce USA. “Working with ReconCraft, we will help ensure these proven autonomous capabilities become available to the U.S. It’s exactly the kind of industrial partnership the Arsenal of Democracy is designed to enable.”
For ReconCraft, the agreement adds autonomous technology to an existing manufacturing base for military craft. For UForce, it provides a U.S. industrial partner with experience supporting special operations customers.
“ReconCraft is building multiple combatant craft platforms trusted by U.S. and Partner Special Operations Forces in the world’s most demanding environments,” said Joe Silkowski, Co-Founder of ReconCraft. “Partnering with UFORCE combines our manufacturing expertise and capabilities with the combat-proven autonomy of the Magura platform, allowing us to deliver greater capability to American warfighters faster than developing a new system from the ground up.”
UForce USA is a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of UForce, a Ukrainian-origin defense technology company registered in London with operations in Ukraine. The parent company has brought together nine Ukrainian defense technology developers and manufacturers under one organization.
UForce said its broader model combines Ukrainian defense technology with Western capital, governance and global distribution. Its portfolio covers unmanned hardware, autonomy software and command-and-control systems.
The ReconCraft agreement gives UForce a path toward U.S.-based manufacturing while linking its systems to American defense programs. It also gives ReconCraft access to autonomous technology that UForce says has already been used in combat.
