{
  "id": 14272870,
  "title": "The US exported the most drones over the past few years — but the second-biggest exporter might surprise you",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/the-us-exported-the-most-drones-over-the-past-few-years-but-the",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-13T18:20:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TechRadar",
    "slug": "techradar",
    "url": "https://www.techradar.com/pro/the-us-exported-the-most-drones-over-the-past-few-years-but-the-second-biggest-exporter-might-surprise-you"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Between 2022 and 2025, the United States exported the most military drones globally, with a total of 7,592 units. Iran came in second place, with 6,800 drone deliveries. Germany ranked third with 1,000 exports. Together, the US and Iran accounted for 86% of global exports. In 2025, Iran overtook the US as the second-biggest exporter, exporting 2,002 drones compared to 402 delivered by the US. This shift in ranking was due to a decline in American shipments, which were redirected mainly toward Taiwan after military assistance to Ukraine was suspended. Most of Iran's exported drones were Shahed-136 one-way attack systems, making up 97% of recorded exports. Poland ranked fourth with 690 drone exports, and Turkey held the fifth position with 381 exports. Turkey supplied drones to 28 countries, including 58% of worldwide exports of reusable drones through its Bayraktar TB2. The top seven countries in the rankings collectively exported just 89 drones, far fewer than the US and Germany. However, the figures are limited by SIPRI's weight threshold and exclusion of smaller commercial and first-person-view models.",
  "summary": "The US exported 7,592 military drones from 2022 to 2025, narrowly ahead of Iran with 6,800 shipments, while Germany ranked third with 1,000.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}