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The roots of drone technology trace back decades, shaped initially by military innovation. Early attempts at unmanned aerial systems focused largely on surveillance and artillery spotting, enabling forces to gather intelligence without risking pilots. Over time, these aerial platforms evolved to conduct strike missions, loitering over targets to deliver precision fire. The war in Ukraine, however, has fundamentally accelerated this progression, turning drone usage from experimental to everyday warfare. Combatants now deploy swarms of unmanned systems for reconnaissance, intelligence-gathering, and direct attack. The conflict has effectively transformed drones into a cornerstone of modern military practices, demonstrating how unmanned systems have become both ubiquitous and indispensable in contemporary battlefields.

Ukraine has made impressive strides in bolstering its domestic drone capabilities. Local innovators have supplied front-line units with agile reconnaissance drones and kamikaze-style loitering munitions tailored to the shifting demands of trench and urban warfare. But despite this ingenuity, Ukraine still leans heavily on donations and deliveries from allied nations and companies to maintain and expand its drone fleet. One such contributor is Granta Autonomy, a Lithuanian-based drone maker whose systems have been deployed in Ukraine since the early months of the full-scale invasion. Granta Autonomy’s support underscores how external assistance remains integral to Ukraine’s unmanned aerial operations even as indigenous production grows.

Granta Autonomy was founded in 2015 by former Lithuanian military engineers Gediminas Guoba and Laurynas Litvinas and is headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania. The company specializes in unmanned aerial systems capable of operating in environments where radio and GPS signals may be denied, designed for intelligence-gathering, surveillance, reconnaissance, and loitering strike operations. The company is a NATO-approved drone maker.

Among its notable products are the GA 10FPV AI quadcopter loitering munition, equipped with artificial intelligence for autonomous operation even in jamming-heavy electronic warfare environments, and the Hornet XR, a hand-launched reconnaissance drone capable of covert travel across long distances. Granta Autonomy has delivered around 1,000 GA 10FPV AI drones to Ukrainian forces and holds contracts to send nearly 4,000 more, in addition to supplying over 2,300 units to Lithuania’s own military. They also provide the Hornet XR for Ukrainian combat operations.

Now, in order to further progress the company’s drone systems, Granta Autonomy’s founder and CEO, Gediminas Guoba, is traveling personally to Ukraine to test their latest drone platform. This marks a bold statement in how seriously Granta Autonomy takes its products. According to Guoba, reports from operators did not provide enough feedback, but being present on the battlefield provides completely different insight.

He explained that as a NATO supplier, reports on the company’s systems were infrequent at best. “Your systems get used maybe once a month, as for example, during exercises and so on,” Guoba said. “When you deliver your system, it is used every day and many times during the day.” For Guoba, this is the best way to truly learn how their products work.

That battlefield immersion has driven breakthroughs in product design and functionality. Granta Autonomy’s latest drone platform aims to enhance survivability under fire, extend reach, and refine AI-assisted flight capabilities in contested electronic environments. By directly engaging with front-line operators amid shelling, Russian jamming, and the chaos of combat, Guoba has gained unfiltered feedback on endurance, reliability, and situational adaptability, insights not available in safe, simulated settings. This kind of firsthand evaluation is transforming what might otherwise remain an academic prototype into a battle-hardened, trusted system.

Guoba’s approach of being present on the front lines symbolizes commitment beyond boardroom strategy. He is prioritizing operational realities, showing solidarity with Ukrainian defenders, and committing to iterate based on real-world performance. His presence signals to both users and allies that Granta Autonomy does not just design for war, it tests, learns, and evolves in it. And it not only benefits Ukrainian forces, but Lithuanian ones as well.

As a NATO nation sharing a border with Russia, Lithuania’s Granta Autonomy knows that gaining firsthand intelligence on drone capabilities can potentially help keep the country safe. “You need to keep improving your technology, improving your product, making it more reliable to ensure that it keeps bringing value in the modern battlefield. Something that worked two years ago and was okay two years ago is not okay anymore,” Guoba said. “Being there, learning new lessons, and improving our products, it’s the key thing.” The only way to ensure Granta Autonomy’s drone platforms are up to par is by testing them in the real world.

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