Budget · Drones
Army drone supplier PDW aims to make Ukrainian Kurbas thermal cameras in the US
PDW ties the nonbinding memorandum to the component plan behind its conditional Office of Strategic Capital loan. It named no buyer, contract value or camera production date.
Performance Drone Works (PDW) announced a memorandum of understanding Monday, Oct. 12, with The Fourth Law and Odd Systems, both founded in Kyiv. Subject to evaluation, regulatory approvals and definitive agreements, the companies intend PDW to become the primary US manufacturing partner for Odd Systems' Kurbas thermal cameras that require domestic production. They describe Kurbas as the most widely used Ukrainian-made thermal camera on the frontline, supplied to more than 200 drone manufacturers. Initial work would focus on a US-compliant, export-ready configuration of the Kurbas 640 family.1
The companies intend for PDW to become the primary U.S. manufacturing partner for Kurbas cameras
PDW, The Fourth Law and Odd Systems signed a memorandum of understanding at AUSA 2026
The proposed pathway would support integration into PDW platforms
would build on Project Foundation, the semiconductor initiative The Fourth Law and Odd Systems launched on October 9
from the Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital (OSC)
PDW says the collaboration advances the vision-systems element of the strategy behind its conditional OSC loan commitment
The MOU establishes a non-binding framework and sets forth the companies' business intent
Source: Performance Drone Works release, Oct. 12, 2026. Data as of Oct. 12, 2026.
Sources
PDW comes to the camera work as a drone maker: the company says the Army expanded its use of PDW's C100 drone through follow-on procurement in the first half of 2026.4 The proposed camera pathway reaches past PDW's own platforms, to distribution of the US-built cameras to other US customers. PDW says the memorandum advances the vision-systems element of the strategy behind its previously announced conditional loan commitment of up to $820 million from the Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital.1 That financing, with additional private capital, is meant to establish domestic production of drone and robotics components now dependent on foreign-controlled supply chains, vision systems among them.3
The companies also intend to explore separate US manufacturing of the thermal sensor itself. That would build on Project Foundation, the microbolometer initiative The Fourth Law and Odd Systems launched Friday, Oct. 9, to mass-produce the sensors in Europe and the US. The initiative plans initial production in 2027.1
Also announced: PDW entered a nonbinding memorandum with veteran-owned Revenant Technologies to identify and evaluate selected Ukrainian technologies, which the companies call "battle-proven", for US integration and production. They expect to start with unmanned systems, counter-UAS, electronic warfare, sensors and mission-critical components.2
The next markers are separate definitive agreements for the camera work, and definitive documentation and financial close for the Office of Strategic Capital loan behind PDW's component plan.1
Sources (4)
- Performance Drone Works: PDW, The Fourth Law, and Odd Systems Announce Partnership to Bring Ukrainian Thermal Camera Technology into U.S. Production (Oct. 12, 2026) www.prnewswire.com
- Performance Drone Works: PDW and Revenant Technologies Establish Strategic Collaboration to Accelerate U.S. Integration and Production of Battle-Proven Ukrainian Systems (Oct. 12, 2026) www.prnewswire.com
- Performance Drone Works: PDW Receives Conditional $820 Million Loan Commitment from U.S. Department of War pdw.ai
- Performance Drone Works: First Half 2026 Customer Adoption Update (July 22, 2026) pdw.ai