FILE · skyetonOpen-source file · BattlePolicy ProStatus Private Ukrainian scale-up, ~500+ staff; Raybird in AFU service since 2018 with a heavy wartime flight record. Kyiv office destroyed in the May 2026 Russian strikes, but production was pre-dispersed across Ukraine and a Slovak plant (opened 2024 via subsidiary Tropozond s.r.o.). Actively expanding into NATO markets through a UK joint venture (Prevail) and partnerships in Poland, France, Denmark and Germany.Unverified
Skyeton
C4ISRCombat-fieldedUAPrivate Ukrainian scale-up, ~500+ staff; Raybird in AFU service since 2018 with a heavy wartime flight record. Kyiv office destroyed in the May 2026 Russian strikes, but production was pre-dispersed across Ukraine and a Slovak plant (opened 2024 via subsidiary Tropozond s.r.o.). Actively expanding into NATO markets through a UK joint venture (Prevail) and partnerships in Poland, France, Denmark and Germany.
Ukrainian maker of the long-endurance Raybird (ACS-3) ISR drone — 28-hour fixed-wing reconnaissance in AFU service since 2018, now routing production into Slovakia and NATO markets around wartime export limits.
HQ
Kyiv, UkraineKyiv office destroyed May 2026; production dispersed across Ukraine + Slovakia
Headcount
500+ incl. 100+ engineerscompany-reported, unverified
Total raised
Undisclosed; ~$3.5M into Slovak line + $15M expansion round sought in 2024close unconfirmed
Stage
Private, revenue-generating scale-upUkrainian state contracts + early NATO export deals
Background
Skyeton was founded in 2006 in Kyiv by Oleksandr Stepura as a maker of ultralight and light-sport aircraft, notably the K-10 Swift. Russia's 2014 seizure of Crimea pushed the firm toward unmanned systems, and it developed the Raybird-3 (designated ACS-3) — a small, catapult-launched fixed-wing platform built for long-duration reconnaissance. The Raybird passed Ukrainian state testing and entered Armed Forces service in 2018, well before the full-scale invasion, and is now one of the AFU's key long-range ISR assets.
Skyeton reports more than 500 staff, over 100 engineers and 1,000-plus systems produced. Leadership runs across two roles: Roman Kniazhenko is cited as CEO (Ukrainska Pravda, Jan 2026), while Pavlo Shevchuk holds the 'International CEO' title driving the export and NATO-partnership push. The company frames itself as 'Ukrainian-born' but increasingly international — a Slovak plant (via subsidiary Tropozond s.r.o.) opened in 2024, an Anglo-Ukrainian JV with Prevail Partners targets UK production, and partnerships now span France, Denmark, Poland and Germany.
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