Shareholders of the American-Ukrainian Defense Tech company Swarmer approved the acquisition of Ratel Robotics.

Under the deal, the company will be able to issue up to 5.49 million new shares. Ratel will receive more than one million of them immediately after the deal closes. Swarmer will be able to issue up to another 4.42 million shares later—provided Ratel meets the agreed financial targets.

This is stated in documents Swarmer filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

What is known about the Ratel Robotics acquisition

In September 2026, the American-Ukrainian Defense Tech company Swarmer announced a deal to buy Ukrainian ground drone manufacturer Ratel Robotics. The deal could reach $224 million. The Wall Street Journal called it “one of the largest in the industry.”

It is taking place amid growing interest from American investors and defense companies in Ukrainian military technologies that have been tested on the battlefield.

Swarmer Chairman Erik Prince said the company plans to continue acquiring and entering partnerships with defense companies whose products have been tested on the battlefield.

So in October 2026, Swarmer signed an agreement to acquire part of the intellectual property of another Ukrainian company—Vataga Drone. After the deal closes, Vataga CEO Maksym Melnyk and 14 members of its research and development team are expected to join Swarmer.

What is known about Swarmer

Swarmer is a Defense Tech company with Ukrainian roots that specializes in AI solutions for conducting missions using drone swarms.

In September 2025, the company raised $15 million in a Series A round, the largest investment in a Ukrainian defense technology company since the start of the war.

In early February 2026, the company submitted registration documents to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an initial public offering of its common shares on Nasdaq.

On March 17, the company began trading on the US Nasdaq exchange. It began trading with 138,060 shares at $12.50. Almost immediately, the share price rose to $13.75 per share (+175% from the previous valuation).

Swarmer became the first Ukrainian DefTech company to go public.

In early September 2026, Swarmer co-founder Serhii Kupriienko stepped down as CEO.

The investment program is designed for three years. The state-owned company Investinor will manage the money. We explain how the new financing mechanism for the Ukrainian defense industry will work.