A Russian ballistic missile destroyed a drone factory registered in the United States in Kyiv on July 24, marking the first known Russian attack against a U.S.-owned company in Ukraine.
The factory belonged to a U.S. corporation registered in Delaware, Terminal Autonomy, which manufactures precision drones for “deep strikes,” equipped with guidance systems designed to withstand Russian interference, according to The Guardian. No casualties were reported in the attack.
“The Russians don’t care who owns the manufacturing plant. It remains a target,” said Anthony Vinci, a former senior U.S. intelligence official. “They don’t care if it’s American or someone else’s.”
In early July, Donald Trump, who had previously been lukewarm about efforts to arm Ukraine, said the United States would license Ukraine to manufacture Patriot anti-aircraft missiles.
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Vinci said: “I think if Patriot missiles or any U.S. system were manufactured in Ukraine, I think the Russians would target that manufacturing facility.”
The Russian state news agency Tass first reported the attack on Sunday, citing the Russian Ministry of Defense as its source. The report does not reveal that a U.S. company owns the factory but mentions that “specialists from a Ukrainian-American company” had worked there. Tass accurately reported that the plant manufactured the AQ-400 Scythe and AQ-100 Bayonet drones.
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