Manila likes the look of Kyiv’s low-cost drones, but adapting battlefield tech to grey-zone sea stand-offs won’t be easy
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenJeoffrey MaitemPublished: 8:00am, 3 Aug 2026Ukraine’s use of cheap, adaptable drones to slow Russia’s military advance has become a model for countries looking to modernise their armed forces, with the Philippines the latest to explore what defence lessons it can learn from Kyiv.Some analysts see a proposed drone partnership with Ukraine as a potential game changer for Manila, offering a short cut to more agile, asymmetric capabilities as tensions persist in the South China Sea.Others are more cautious, urging the Philippines to first assess whether Ukraine’s battle-hardened drone tactics are even suitable for a murky maritime “grey zone” of surveillance and coastguard encounters.
The diplomatic groundwork for the mooted “Drone Deal” framework was laid on July 24 when Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of the Ukrainian president’s office, met a Philippine delegation led by Undersecretary of National Defence Salvador Mison on his first official visit to Kyiv.
According to a statement from the Ukrainian president’s office, the two sides have agreed to begin work on a possible deal, deepening a defence relationship that has been building since Ukraine first floated a memorandum of understanding last year covering drone co-production, technology exchange and cybersecurity cooperation.
