Redwire has sent Ukraine more than 300 Penguin drones

Redwire has now delivered more than 300 of its Penguin reconnaissance drones to Ukraine, the company said, and the version flying there today climbs much higher than the aircraft first sent in 2022 so that Russian FPV attack drones have a harder time reaching it.

The U.S. space and defense company disclosed the figure in a company post describing its four years of support for Ukrainian forces.

The Penguin is a small fixed-wing drone used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, meaning it watches the battlefield and sends video back to troops. Ukraine’s armed forces chose the upgraded Penguin Mk2X mainly for its endurance, range and altitude, according to Redwire. The company said the Mk2X can fly significantly higher than earlier versions did at the start of the war, which helps protect it from being hunted by first-person-view (FPV) drones, the small, cheap quadcopters both sides use to attack targets. Redwire did not give the new altitude figure.

The aircraft carries Redwire’s Octopus 180, a stabilized camera made in Latvia that lets operators watch targets from farther away and with more accuracy.

“Technology that was relevant here two months ago is now outdated,” said Redwire’s business development lead in Ukraine. “For each measure, our adversary comes up with a countermeasure, and then we must rapidly create a superior solution. To achieve mission success in Ukraine, the innovations cannot stop.”

Redwire said it often sells directly to the Ukrainian government, rather than supplying the drones through European Union or NATO military aid packages. The Penguin is designed, built and flight-tested in Riga, Latvia, where Redwire runs a flight operations team that trains Ukrainian operators. The company also keeps an office and staff in Ukraine for maintenance, repairs, training and engineering support. Redwire describes itself as the largest defense company in the Baltic states.

“The Penguin deployed in Ukraine today is not the same aircraft procured four years ago,” said Tuna Djemil, senior vice president of business development and strategy at Redwire Defense Tech. “These improvements are a direct result of our modular system design, which is fully operational in this modern battlespace, proving every day how UAS survivability depends on adaptability.”

Redwire, best known for spacecraft components, entered the drone business in 2025 when it bought Penguin maker Edge Autonomy. In an interview with The Defence Blog on Sept. 12, Josh Stinson, co-president and chief growth officer of Redwire Defense Tech, said Russian electronic warfare means navigation and communications can never be treated as guaranteed, and that no drone maker should claim immunity to jamming. He said the company’s chief technology officer once held a video call, through a translator, with a Ukrainian special operations commander in a bunker to discuss how Russian tactics were changing.

Stinson also said an undisclosed NATO country has ordered the next model, the Penguin Mk3, under a multi-year contract valued in the high eight figures. The Mk3 takes off and lands vertically on its own, has several payload bays, carries more equipment than earlier versions, is built for winter operations and can be run by a two-person crew. Stinson said Redwire does not consider the Mk3 itself combat proven, though its design draws on the Penguin family’s experience in Ukraine.

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