Ukraine and Eric Schmidt's Swift Beat to Expand Production of Unmanned Systems

In Denmark, in the presence of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s 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 company’s 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 to the Ukrainian government, Swift Beat is expected to manufacture hundreds of thousands of drones this year alone, with that number set to increase in 2026.

The company reportedly specializes in AI-integrated UAVs and already has a substantial presence in Ukraine.

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Corporate Origins and Hidden Structures

Swift Beat is owned by Volya Robotics OÜ, a company registered in Tallinn, Estonia, whose sole beneficiary is Eric Schmidt.

Interestingly, Swift Beat was at one point rebranded as White Stork—a name that appeared in public reports in 2024 in connection with the development of low-cost, AI-enabled drones for Ukraine.

Though Swift Beat itself had not previously appeared in the public domain, White Stork was linked to ongoing UAV development efforts.

Schmidt, who has personally visited Ukrainian production sites and test ranges, is associated with a network of companies that appear to be structured to limit public visibility.

Leadership and Background

Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Swift Beat, is best known for his role as Google’s CEO from 2001 to 2011. He also served as Chairman of the Department of Defense Innovation Board between 2016 and 2020, and later as a member of the US National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence.

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Schmidt has publicly supported the use of drones as low-cost, high-impact weapons. He has also funded the Ukrainian startup accelerator D3 and held meetings with officials from Ukraine’s government.

It remains unclear whether manufacturing facilities will be located in Denmark—where the agreement was signed—or in Estonia, where the parent company is registered.

For now, little public information is available about the company’s current product line or production status. However, the scale of the planned collaboration suggests that Swift Beat will play a significant role in Ukraine’s drone capabilities in the near future.

Sources: United24Media; President of Ukraine