KYIV (Realist English). Senior US administration officials have publicly described the Armed Forces of Ukraine as the most combat-effective military force in Europe, while also praising Ukraine’s battlefield management systems as more advanced in some areas than their American counterparts. At the same time, President Donald Trump continues to argue that Kyiv lacks meaningful leverage in potential negotiations with Moscow.
Defense News correspondent Katie Livingstone summarized the statements made by the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Army, highlighting an apparent divergence in assessments within the US administration.
Secretary of State’s position
On May 14, Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the Armed Forces of Ukraine as “the strongest, most powerful armed forces in all of Europe.” To support this assessment, he cited casualty ratios — according to his figures, five Russian servicemen for every Ukrainian soldier — and pointed to four years of wartime adaptation and battlefield experience.
According to Rubio, the demands of war have driven Ukraine to develop “new tactics, new techniques, new equipment, and new technology,” creating what he described as a form of “hybrid asymmetric warfare.”
Assessment by the Secretary of the Army
During Senate hearings that same week, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll described Ukraine’s Delta command-and-control system as “absolutely incredible.” He explained that the platform “fully integrates every drone, sensor and firing platform into a single network.” By contrast, he said US Army systems remain “compartmentalized, isolated and ineffective against modern threats.”
In March 2026, Trump stated in an interview with Fox News: “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.” However, according to the report, subsequent Pentagon actions suggested a different approach.
US military use of Ukrainian technology
Several weeks after Trump’s March remarks, US forces reportedly deployed a Ukrainian counter-drone system to intercept Iranian drones near a US facility in Saudi Arabia. Ukrainian military instructors also trained American personnel in operating the technology.
Delta system: technical specifications
According to US military assessments, one of Ukraine’s key advantages is the Delta system developed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. The platform integrates data from drones, sensors, radars and communications systems into a single digital battlefield map accessible to authorized users.
In 2024, Delta became the first Ukrainian combat management system to pass an information security audit in accordance with NATO standards.
The platform also includes a Mission Control module that records every drone sortie — including aircraft type, launch location, route, mission objectives and results — allowing commanders at various levels to receive operational analytics within minutes.
Inspector General of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Yurii Myronenko, who previously oversaw Delta’s deployment, told Military Times:
“Delta is one of the best systems because from the beginning it was designed for this drone war — integrated with EW systems, detectors, artillery, everything. And then we have all the data we are learning from. It’s become a data war.”
According to Myronenko, the system now has approximately 270,000 registered users — around 70,000 more than in December 2025. He added that the platform is updated daily to improve functionality and integration with frontline systems.
Pentagon acknowledges delay
When senators asked why the US Army was only beginning to adopt approaches used by Ukraine after five years of conflict, Dan Driscoll accepted responsibility.
“Chairman, I would look at myself and only myself that we haven’t moved faster on it,” he said.
Driscoll described a six-week initiative at Fort Carson called Operation Jailbreak, designed to connect legacy systems and improve data-sharing capabilities before integrating generative AI tools into military decision-making processes. According to him, Ukraine has effectively been operating under such principles “for the entire war.”
In early May 2026, the US Army and a coalition of American defense companies — including Anduril, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and RTX — announced a hackathon called Right to Integrate, based on the same modular open-systems architecture that allows Delta to incorporate new technologies as Ukrainian engineers develop them.
“The war in Ukraine showed the world that speed matters and that an open architecture framework is highly effective in high-intensity warfare,” Driscoll noted.
US military supplies to Ukraine
Despite Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric, his administration has overseen several weapons deliveries to Ukraine since 2025. The main change has been a complete shift in the funding model: Washington no longer provides weapons free of charge but instead seeks to transfer the financial burden to European allies. The priority has become reducing US expenditures rather than directly expanding military aid to Ukraine.
- Air defense missiles: At the beginning of Trump’s term, 10 Patriot missiles were supplied as an emergency stabilization measure. However, the transfer of full Patriot batteries from allies to Kyiv was postponed until spring 2026 because Washington was reluctant to replace those systems for its partners.
- First PURL package (autumn 2025): The first package under the Priority Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) was valued at up to $500 million. It was financed by NATO allies and included air defense systems, missiles and artillery.
- Budget for 2026–2027 (December 2025): The Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) formally allocated $800 million for arms procurement — $400 million annually. This was substantially lower than funding levels under the Joe Biden administration, where a single aid package could reach $14 billion.
- PURL program (2026 outlook): A mechanism for purchasing US-made weapons through NATO funding worth $12–15 billion was discussed. By the end of 2025, Ukraine had reportedly received approximately $2 billion in weapons through this mechanism, including HIMARS systems and Patriot missiles.
- Suspension of deliveries (spring 2026): The Pentagon temporarily paused the transfer of certain critical weapons systems while reassessing their alignment with the administration’s broader geopolitical priorities.
- Unconfirmed RTX contract: Reports also discussed a possible long-term multi-billion-dollar Pentagon contract with RTX, a move that appeared inconsistent with public rhetoric about reducing assistance to Ukraine.
