Belgium and Turkey have expressed their interest in joining the international Drone Coalition led by Latvia and the United Kingdom to support Ukraine, Latvian Defence Minister Andris Sprūds (Progressives) announced on Wednesday during the “Drone Summit 2025” defence innovation conference.
Coalition member states have also committed to allocating 2.75 billion euros this year in support of Ukraine.
“The international drone coalition is becoming increasingly stronger, which means we will be able to deliver more drones to Ukraine, while simultaneously boosting the defence industries of Latvia, the European Union, and NATO countries,” said Minister Sprūds. He emphasized that unity is our strength and that the addition of new allies will help ensure even more effective support for Ukraine in its fight against the aggressor.
The minister also noted that coalition member states have so far contributed approximately 180 million euros to the UK-led Drone Coalition Procurement Fund. These funds will be used for centralized procurement of drone technologies in addition to each member country’s national support initiatives.
Latvia’s planned contribution to the Drone Coalition in 2025 amounts to 20 million euros for drone purchases, with an additional 10 million euros earmarked for collaborative projects between Latvian and Ukrainian defence industries. Last year, Latvia allocated 20 million euros to support Ukraine, delivering nearly 5 000 combat drones of varying capabilities.
Since its establishment on the 14th of February 2024, the Drone Coalition has already provided substantial support to Ukraine – 1.8 billion euros in 2024 alone. With the additional planned contributions for 2025, total support within the coalition framework will exceed 4.5 billion euros over two years.
Alongside Latvia, the Drone Coalition currently includes: United Kingdom, Australia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Estonia, Italy, New Zealand, Canada, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Ukraine, Germany, Sweden, and Norway.
According to the coalition’s memorandum of understanding, the admission of new member states must be approved by the current coalition members. If Belgium and Turkey are accepted, the Drone Coalition would grow to include 20 cooperating nations.