Commander Clueless and the Ukrainian drones

Trump turns 180 degrees on Ukrainian drones. Today, at least. The lesson: the U.S. president is the definition of “untrustworthy.” Not least for Ukraine.

BY MICHAEL ANDERSEN

This week, once again, the U.S. president has gone to some length to demonstrate just how little he knows about world affairs.

(I actually found myself wondering how on earth he ever found his way to China 😉 I know, I know, he probably didn’t fly the plane himself - although he no doubt could have done it, betterest than anyone else, no doubt, it would have been a tremendous flight., the bestest in world history, all other countries would envy the U.S. such a leader.)

Two months ago – as it became clear that the Iranians were hitting back rather efficiently with their Shahed drones, hurting both the U.S. and its allies around the Gulf - the Ukrainian president Zelensky offered his help with Ukrainian anti-drone expertise. Expertise, the Ukrainians have earned in the most bitter way during the past four years of Russian invasion.

In January and February this year, several magazines specializing in defense technology and drone warfare ran articles demonstrating that Ukraine had become the world leader in drone warfare, battlefield doctrine and drone production cycles.

And that Western armies were lagging far behind battlefield reality (in Ukraine).

The flow of battle-tested technology is going the other way now, was the message, from East to West.

In March – as they were being hit by Iran - several countries around the Gulf happily accepted the Ukrainian offer of selling them drones, anti-drone technology and training. (That, obviously, was also an extremely beneficial deal for Ukraine in terms of making some money for the country to survive.)

But - surprisingly to no one - the U.S. president knew better and was in no mood to accept Ukrainian help:

“We don’t need their help in drone defense. We know more about drones than anybody. We have the best drones in the world, actually.”

For good measure, he added:

“The last person we need help from is Zelensky.”

Those were the exact words of the U.S. president two months ago.

But at the same time - in the real world - stories were breaking about the U.S. and other NATO countries actually stumbling far behind Ukraine in drone warfare.

Well-renowned publications such as the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal (and others) were running articles detailing how Europe was now learning from Ukraine when it comes to drone technology and warfare.

And stories about just how far behind the U.S. is lagging behind were making their way into more niche, specialized magazines in the U.S. on military and war.

But obviously not into Donald Trump’s White House or his mind.

At a NATO exercise in Estonia in January, 10 Ukrainian operators ‘eliminated’ two NATO battalions in hours using a Ukrainian battlefield management system.

“We’re screwed,” said one of the U.S. commanders present.

During NATO’s Aurora 26 exercises on Gotland a few days ago, in May, Ukrainian drone pilots playing the aggressor role ‘destroyed’ Swedish units so thoroughly that training had to be halted three times.

“When the full-scale Russian invasion began, Western defense manufacturers rushed their modern weaponry into Ukraine, helping Kyiv drive back a much more powerful foe. Four years on, the flow of battle-tested technology is going the other way,” the WSJ concluded.

Last week, I talked to a Ukrainian drone commander and trainer who has himself participated in similar meets. He laughed out loud and said that he had had pretty similar experiences:

“The Americans are mainly interested in eating McDonald’s.”

When I told him that that was a somewhat derisive comment, he elaborated:

“They are soft and slow, they don’t have their best people working on drone warfare. At least I hope they don’t, hehe.”

No matter, the U.S. Commander-in-Chief was not interested. The rest of the world was. But not the U.S. president. That was in mid-March.

But last week, the Trump administration performed another of its infamous 180-degree turn.

On 12 May, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee, could barely contain his praise of the Ukrainian expertise on drones.

At the same hearing, Senator Mitch McConnell referred to Ukraine as the “Silicon Vally of War.”

US Army Secretary Driscoll concluded:

“Ukraine’s Delta common operating system, their modular open system architecture, C2 system is absolutely incredible. It fully integrates every single drone, sensor, and shooting platform into just one single network. Ours does not.”

And lo and behold, a few days ago, news came that the U.S. and Ukraine are now on the verge of a deal under which Ukraine would export drones and drone technology to the U.S. army. In the first instance only for testing, but both sides see this as the first step towards a much bigger ‘drone deal.’

On 13 May, CBS said that “Ukraine and U.S. move toward a landmark drone defense deal as Iran war highlights capabilities and necessities” and the FT says the document “reflects the Trump administration’s growing interest in Kyiv’s rapidly developing battlefield technologies.”

In other words, a total repudiation of what the U.S. president said only in March.

CBS news says that the bigger deal in the offing would “create a mechanism allowing Ukraine to export military technologies to the US and launch joint drone production projects with American companies.”

So from Trump’s ‘you know nothing, we have all the bestestest 😉drones in the world’ to ‘Ukraine is the best at drones, please let us buy some from you and learn from you’ in two months. (I am slightly, but only slightly, paraphrasing.)

From this one can - and should - draw three conclusions:

One, somebody in the U.S. defense machinery must have been able to impress on Trump that Ukraine is doing important work on drones. That is good. And surprising.

Two, the embarrassing 180-degree turn once again demonstrates that the U.S. Commander-in-Chief is spectacularly ill-suited to have anything to do with war and international relations.

Donald Trump must literally be the worst and most ill-informed and educated Commander-in-Chief ever. And the most keen to loudly demonstrate this fact. The current U.S. president is often described as “unbriefable” - by people whose job it is to actually brief him. His comments on Ukraine and drones are just one more example.

Three, before the Ukrainians start splashing out the American dosh drone sales could entail, they would be well advised to take anything coming out of the Trump White House or, indeed, the Hegseth Pentagon, with a boatload of salt.

So, whether it is about drone deals or security guarantees, or “I will have that war finished in 24 hours”, never trust any promises, deals or signatures this U.S. president throws your way.

President Trump is literally the 2026 definition of “untrustworthy”. (For both friends and foes.)