Patria and Ukrainian drone maker General Cherry have signed a letter of intent to jointly develop unmanned vehicles for Western European defense needs and start producing drones in Finland. The agreement brings together General Cherry’s experience with small drones and Patria’s unmanned-technology expertise and defense-industry experience.
The companies announced the cooperation in a joint statement. It calls for the two firms to work on unmanned vehicles while Patria plans to start drone production in Finland. The announcement did not give a date for the start of Finnish production.
Mikko Leino, Patria’s executive vice president for defense and weapon systems, said unmanned defense systems are central to the future of defense. He said the partnership with General Cherry would further reinforce Patria’s expertise in unmanned defense systems and drone development.
The arrangement links a Finnish defense company with a Ukrainian manufacturer whose products are being used in the war in Ukraine. General Cherry produces a range of drones, including one-way first-person-view strike drones and interceptor drones. The company says its products are in use with more than 200 military units across the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
General Cherry co-founder Stanislav Hryshyn said the companies’ battlefield experience and technological capabilities could help drive what he described as a fundamental transformation of the European and global security architecture.
The agreement reflects a broader effort by European defense companies and governments to work with Ukrainian drone makers. Ukrainian manufacturers have developed and supplied systems in response to battlefield demands, while European countries have shown increasing interest in cooperation involving Ukrainian unmanned technology. The Patria-General Cherry announcement places that cooperation in a Finnish industrial setting, with the two companies combining their respective areas of expertise.
Patria said the cooperation would support its aim of being an innovative product developer. The company’s statement also said Finnish drone production would help build up Europe’s defense capabilities. Those comments place the proposed work within Patria’s wider focus on unmanned defense systems and European defense production.
The announcement concerns both development and production. General Cherry contributes expertise in small drones, while Patria brings unmanned-technology capabilities and experience in the defense industry. Together, the companies said, they intend to develop unmanned vehicles for Western European defense needs.
The companies did not identify which General Cherry systems, if any, would be produced in Finland. Patria also did not immediately respond to questions about whether existing General Cherry drone models would be made there or when Finnish production could start.
The letter of intent marks the companies’ announced commitment to pursue the cooperation. Its signing does not by itself identify a production timetable in the companies’ public statement. The announcement instead establishes the proposed areas of work: joint unmanned-vehicle development, use of the companies’ combined expertise and the planned start of drone production in Finland.
For Patria, the agreement further connects its defense-industry activities with unmanned systems and drone development. For General Cherry, it links its small-drone expertise and battlefield experience with a Finnish defense company’s technological and industrial capabilities. The companies said the cooperation is intended to address defense needs in Western Europe while contributing to broader European defense capabilities.