Skyfall and Auterion delivering Shrike UAVs with Skynode S autonomy to Ukraine
A SkyFall Shrike UAV displayed during the Space Autonomy, Drone X, AGV And UMV Expo in London on 20 September 2025. (Getty Images)
Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) maker Skyfall, and Swiss-US autonomy company Auterion began delivering 50,000 Shrike UAVs equipped with Auterion's Skynode S autonomy capability to the Armed Forces if Ukraine (AFU) in July 2026, an Auterion representative told Janes on 13 July.
Delivery will be completed over the coming months and is funded by the German government, according to a defence source.
The production process, under which Skynode S is integrated with the Shrike platform, is taking place in Germany.
Skynode S is an autonomy hardware and software stack which provides a terminal guidance capability for a UAV, including in conditions where global navigation satellite services (GNSS) and radio frequency (RF) links are denied, according to Auterion. Skynode S combines the hardware components required to run Auterion's software, AuterionOS. “Skynode S turns each Shrike from a manually flown FPV [first person view] drone into a precision guided and software defined weapon,” the Auterion representative said. Skynode provides UAV terminal guidance against moving targets while running its strike, track and intercept software with computer vision. A UAV operator designates a target using the onboard camera. The UAV locks onto the target and flies itself into it with no manual piloting required.
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