Ukrainian drone manufacturer General Cherry and Croatian UAV producer Orqa have signed a memorandum of cooperation to jointly develop and manufacture interceptor drones and counter-UAS systems for NATO member states — marking the first time General Cherry’s combat-tested interceptor capability will be available outside Ukraine.
The agreement, announced April 7 and signed in Osijek, Croatia, establishes a dual-track production architecture. In Ukraine, the two companies will develop an underground manufacturing facility focused initially on flight stacks and communication systems, with a stated goal of full localization of component production under Ukraine’s Build in Ukraine program. In Croatia, they will launch serial production combining Orqa’s manufacturing infrastructure with General Cherry’s operational development cycle — the iterative, battlefield-driven approach that has defined Ukrainian drone development since 2022.
General Cherry, founded in September 2023, has grown to produce more than 70,000 drones per month across 33 codified products. The company ranks first in interceptor drones among Ukrainian manufacturers according to official Army of Drones Bonus program data, and was the first Ukrainian drone company to receive AQAP 2110 certification — the NATO quality management standard required for alliance procurement. Its flagship interceptor products include the Bullet, a 309 km/h fixed-wing VTOL system designed to engage Shahed-class attack drones, and the AIR series of counter-UAV interceptors. In February 2026, a General Cherry AIR interceptor destroyed a Russian AI-powered Klin loitering munition in what the company described as the first confirmed intercept of an AI-guided kamikaze drone.
Orqa brings an established NATO supply chain footprint to the partnership. The Croatian company operates in more than 50 markets including 24 NATO member states, manufactures all products without Chinese components, and runs a fully vertically integrated production model. In 2026 the company was ranked 135th overall and second in aerospace and defense on the Financial Times FT1000 list of Europe’s fastest-growing companies.
“General Cherry’s real-world combat experience, combined with Orqa’s broad technical capabilities, creates a partnership with exceptional potential,” said Srdjan Kovacevic, co-founder and CEO of Orqa. “It is an important step forward for both parties and countries, enabling General Cherry’s highly effective interceptor drone capability to be available outside Ukraine for the first time.”
Yaroslav Hryshyn, co-founder of General Cherry, framed the agreement in terms of European security architecture. “Our shared goal is clear: to help build a new architecture of European and global security. Ukraine’s unique battlefield experience, combined with Orqa’s technological expertise, creates a powerful synergy.”
The Orqa agreement is the European complement to a U.S.-focused partnership General Cherry announced last week with Wilcox Industries, a Newington, New Hampshire-based defense equipment manufacturer. That joint venture is oriented toward Pentagon procurement and the U.S. market, with General Cherry’s engineering team leading development at Wilcox’s production facility. Together, the two partnerships suggest a deliberate effort by General Cherry to establish distributed international manufacturing capacity simultaneously on both sides of the Atlantic — a production architecture designed to serve NATO demand without drawing down Ukrainian domestic output.
The Orqa deal also reflects a broader pattern among Ukrainian defense-tech companies seeking to establish manufacturing footholds in NATO member states. UkrSpecSystems opened a UK production facility in February 2026; Quantum Frontline Industries, a German-Ukrainian joint venture, began production in southern Germany in late 2025; and Skyeton has established production in Slovakia through a partnership with UK firm Prevail Partners.
