The U.S. Army has awarded Skyeton Inc., the American subsidiary of Ukrainian unmanned-aircraft manufacturer Skyeton, a $10.6 million contract for Raybird unmanned aircraft hardware and services.
Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, issued the firm-fixed-price contract after soliciting bids online. The contracting authority received one bid, from Skyeton. The award is estimated to be completed by Dec. 15, 2026.
Contract details remain undisclosed
The contract does not identify the number of Raybird systems to be purchased, the delivery location or the Army unit that will operate the aircraft. The source also states that funding details will be determined as individual orders are placed against the contract.
The award places the Raybird directly within a U.S. Army procurement activity, although the available contract information does not establish how the systems will be assigned or used. It follows the aircraft’s reported adoption by Ukraine’s military and interest from other countries, including the United Kingdom and Poland.
Long-endurance surveillance aircraft
Raybird is a small, fixed-wing surveillance unmanned aerial vehicle designed for extended missions. According to the supplied information, it can remain airborne for nearly 28 hours and travel more than 2,500 kilometres without landing. The aircraft can operate at altitudes of up to 5,500 metres and carry a sensor payload weighing between 5 and 10 kilograms.
The airframe is rated for temperatures from minus 35 degrees Celsius to 55 degrees Celsius. The stated operating range covers conditions from severe cold to high-temperature environments, according to the manufacturer’s published specifications cited in the report.
Skyeton says Raybird aircraft have accumulated more than 350,000 combat flight hours in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. The company describes those missions as primarily long-range reconnaissance operations and presents the flight record as evidence of the system’s resilience and low attrition rate under combat conditions, including exposure to electronic jamming. Those figures and claims have not been independently established in the supplied material.
Expansion into NATO markets
Skyeton was founded in Ukraine in 2006 and initially produced light sport aircraft before moving into unmanned systems. The company has since established partnerships intended to expand Raybird production and sales outside Ukraine.
Skyeton and British company Prevail Partners have formed a joint venture, Skyeton Prevail Solutions, to manufacture Raybird for NATO markets. The venture is also competing for a British Army requirement to replace its ageing Watchkeeper unmanned aircraft. In France, Skyeton has partnered with sensor manufacturer Harmattan AI to integrate artificial-intelligence-enabled payloads onto the aircraft. Raybird is also marketed in Poland through a local distributor.
The company added satellite communications to the system during the past year, according to the source, with the stated aim of removing range limitations imposed by its data link. Skyeton has also been testing a hydrogen fuel-cell version of the aircraft in combat conditions in Ukraine since December 2025.
The U.S. Army award is therefore one of the first confirmed contracts described in the source as placing Raybird directly in American military hands. However, until the Army releases additional ordering information, the size, configuration and destination of the planned procurement remain unspecified.
