TAF Industries, a Ukrainian drone manufacturer, received a request from a foreign shipowner to station counter-drone specialists aboard a commercial vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz, BBC News Ukraine reported April 29.
Under the proposed arrangement, several TAF specialists would operate interceptor drones aboard the vessel during its transit to counter potential threats from Iranian Shahed-type attack drones. The service would be complete once the ship exits the strait.
“We received a request from a shipowner to ensure the safe passage of their vessel through the Strait of Hormuz. This is about providing a military consulting service, not about exporting drones,” said Oleksandr Yakovenko, the company’s owner and co-founder.
To execute the mission, the company must secure approvals from Ukraine’s State Export Control Service (DSEC) and the interagency commission on military-technical cooperation and export control. As of late April, the required documentation had not yet been filed.
Oleh Tsilvik, DSEC’s head, said the agency had received only a few arms export applications over the past two months and reviewed none. TAF Industries has already secured separate approvals for military technologies and military services, and operates European production facilities for interceptor drones.
TAF produces first-person-view (FPV) drones, electronic warfare systems, and interceptor platforms including the Kolibri and Octopus-100, which exceeds 186 mph and has a roughly 18-mile engagement range.
The request arrives as Gulf state governments separately pursue volume purchases of TAF interceptor drones, with the UAE seeking 5,000 units, Qatar 2,000, and Kuwait also in discussions, Yakovenko told The Financial Times in March.
On April 28, President Zelenskyy announced that arrangements to simplify the transfer of Ukrainian weapons and expertise abroad had been finalized under a new Drone Deals framework.
ZELENSKYY: Diesel, financial support, joint production, and the supply of critical shortages to Ukraine are among the results of drone deals struck in recent months.
“Diesel for Ukraine, when there is instability, money for the state budget, joint production and supply of… pic.twitter.com/M3X1ltgy8Q
— Kateryna Lisunova (@KaterynaLis) April 29, 2026
The company said the Hormuz request remains at the inquiry stage, with the required documentation yet to be submitted to Ukrainian authorities.
