A drone manufacturing facility in Kyiv, owned by the US corporation Terminal Autonomy, was destroyed by a Russian ballistic missile on Friday. This incident appears to be the first instance of Moscow targeting a US company in the ongoing conflict.
Terminal Autonomy, registered in Delaware in 2023, produces "deep-strike" drones equipped with guidance systems designed to resist Russian jamming signals. The company's website states that its AI-guided loitering and precision munitions are actively used against enemy assets on the frontline.
According to a source familiar with the company, nobody was killed in the attack. The Russian state news agency Tass first reported on the attack on Sunday, citing the Russian defence ministry, and mentioned that "specialists from a Ukrainian-American company" had worked at the plant, which made AQ-400 Scythe and AQ-100 Bayonet drones.
Anthony Vinci, a former senior US intelligence officer, commented that Russia would likely target any manufacturing facility, regardless of ownership, if it produced military systems. He specifically noted that if Patriot missiles or other American systems were manufactured in Ukraine, the Russians would probably target those facilities.