Russian missile destroys US firm’s Kyiv drone factory

Terminal Autonomy, registered in Delaware in 2023, specializes in precision "deep-strike" drones equipped with AI-guided guidance systems designed to resist Russian jamming. The company's website states that its AI-guided loitering munitions and precision munitions are already in active service against enemy assets on the front lines.

According to a source familiar with the company, no one was killed in the attack. The Russian state news agency Tass first reported the strike on Sunday, citing the Russian defense ministry. While the Tass report did not explicitly state that an American company owned the factory, it mentioned that "specialists from a Ukrainian-American company" had worked there and accurately identified the drones produced as AQ-400 Scythe and AQ-100 Bayonet.

Anthony Vinci, a former senior US intelligence officer, commented that Russian forces likely do not differentiate based on ownership, viewing any manufacturing facility as a legitimate target. He also suggested that if American systems like Patriot missiles were manufactured in Ukraine, such facilities would be targeted by Russia.