"Made by housewives." Rheinmetall CEO contemptuously commented on Ukrainian drones, Ukrainians responded

Ukrainian interceptor drone P 1-Sun by SkyFall during tests in March 2026. Photo: Getty Images

What Papperger said

Recently, in an interview with American publication The Atlantic journalist Simon Shuster, the CEO of the German company Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger, stated that there was nothing innovative in Ukrainian drones and called their manufacturers "Ukrainian housewives."

The German defense concern Rheinmetall is best known for producing artillery and tanks. Ukraine has learned to destroy such weapons with the help of cheap drones.

After visiting one of Rheinmetall's factories in Unterlüss, Germany, Shuster asked if this revolution in military technology posed a threat to Papperger's business.

"It's just playing with 'Lego'. What innovation is there from Ukraine? They don't have any technological breakthrough. They create innovations with their small drones and say: 'Wow!' — and that's great. Well, that's fine. But it's not Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, or Rheinmetall technology," he said.

Ukrainian drones are assembled mainly from imported parts, including rotors, motors, cameras, and computer chips, Shuster noted.

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CEO of the German defense concern Rheinmetall Armin Papperger. Photo: Getty Images

Most of these components come from China, where one company produces more than 80% of the world's small drones. But their cheapness, especially compared to complex weapon systems produced by companies like Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall, is precisely what makes them so devastating.

For just a few hundred dollars, Ukrainian drones can inflict serious damage on military equipment worth millions.

"They did to tanks and cannons what muskets once did to knights in shining armor," Shuster writes.

When the journalist noted that Ukraine now produces more drones than any democracy in the world and asked how this might affect Papperger's business model, he was indignant.

He asked who the largest drone manufacturers in Ukraine were — Shuster named Fire Point (manufacturer of FP-1, FP-2 drones and Flamingo missiles) and Skyfall (which produces heavy Vampire bomber drones).

"These are Ukrainian housewives. They have 3D printers in their kitchens, and they produce drone parts. This is not innovation," the CEO of the German concern replied.

In his opinion, Ukraine will not be able to sell its drones to NATO because it will not receive an Alliance license due to bureaucracy and resistance from Western regulators.

Papperger's "empire," Shuster reminds, spans 180 factories (including in the United States) that produce not only tanks and artillery, but also ships, missiles, drones, anti-aircraft batteries, and fuselages for fighter jets such as the F-35.

Last year, Papperger stated his readiness to provide weapons for a potential international peacekeeping mission after the end of Russia's war against Ukraine. The company has repeatedly supplied its weaponry to Ukraine. Among them, for example, are Skyranger 35 air defense systems, designed to intercept "Shaheds" and other drones.

After the outrage caused by Papperger's words, Rheinmetall issued an official statement supporting Ukraine. The company stated that it respects the efforts of Ukrainians in defending against the Russian invasion, especially under conditions of limited resources.

"The innovative strength and fighting spirit of the Ukrainian people are an inspiration to us. We are grateful for the opportunity to support Ukraine with the resources at our disposal," the company wrote on X.

Ukraine's response

The President of Ukraine was asked to comment on the words of the Rheinmetall CEO. In the already traditional chat message exchange, journalists asked Zelensky whether he saw this statement as an attack on the Ukrainian military-industrial complex.

"If every housewife in Ukraine can truly produce drones, then every housewife in Ukraine can be the CEO of Rheinmetall. And I congratulate our Ukrainian defense industrial complex on this high level," the president said.

He added that competition should not be with rhetoric, but with technologies and results. Ukraine "shows the results of these technologies daily on the battlefield, on the ground, in the sky, and at sea," Zelensky said. He added that the effectiveness of Ukrainian weapons is explained by their experience in the war with Russia, which other countries do not have.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko earlier responded in a post on the X platform that "the defense of Europe rests on Ukrainian 'housewives'." "Ukrainian women are indeed an important part of Ukraine's war efforts and Europe's security."

At the same time, Ukrainian drone manufacturers also reacted to Papperger's controversial statement. Skyfall, which Shuster himself asked to comment on the Rheinmetall CEO's words, responded with humor.

"If a drone made by Ukrainian 'housewives' is enough to destroy tanks and artillery… I guess it's officially the era of 'housewives' now," the journalist quoted their response.

Oleksandr Yakovenko, head of one of Ukraine's largest drone manufacturing companies, noted that Papperger's words demonstrated how deeply the European defense establishment still misunderstands the nature of modern warfare.

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Head of Ukrainian drone manufacturing company TAF Industries Oleksandr Yakovenko

He stated that in 2025 alone, Ukrainian drones inflicted 90% of all combat losses of the Russian army — more than all other types of weapons combined. TAF Industries alone, founded by Yakovenko, produces up to 100,000 FPV drones per month.

"In any 90-day period, only my company's products have more confirmed hits than all your equipment throughout its entire history of combat use in all conflicts. And most importantly — I created this company and this result in two years, not 50," he wrote.

Yakovenko explained how the war has changed, stating that these changes are not a game, but "industrial Darwinism," meaning evolution in real-time. Russian electronic warfare has made GPS-guided Western munitions (Excalibur, GMLRS, etc.) almost ineffective.

Expensive and complex systems, created for air superiority warfare and classical peer-on-peer warfare, have become prey for drones costing $500-2000, which hunt them from above, the specialist explained. He added that the "cost-effect" ratio has reversed, as one 120mm Rheinmetall shell or one anti-tank missile costs more than a dozen Ukrainian drones, and yet they still win.

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Social media mocks Papperger's words about housewives. Photos from Facebook

According to Yakovenko, European manufacturers should not mock Ukrainian technologies, but adopt their experience.

Robert Brovdi "Madyar," commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' Unmanned Systems Forces, also did not refrain from responding to Papperger. He published a video showing a Ukrainian drone hitting an electrical substation in occupied Luhansk region, captioning it: "An amateur-housewife Lego-bird watches to ensure that unnecessary light in TOT is turned off."

In his opinion, it is difficult for large corporations to accept the "democratization of high-precision weapons with 'kitchen junk and sticks'." "This is a new doctrine, the newest war," he concluded.

Meanwhile, hashtags #MadeByHousewives and #LEGODrones are gaining popularity on social media. In posts under them, users criticize Papperger's careless words and express support for Ukraine.

In March, the country sent its military experts and anti-drone specialists to the Middle East. The need arose after the air defense of the Persian Gulf countries proved not very effective against Iranian "Shaheds."

In May last year, during NATO exercises in Estonia, Ukrainian military personnel showed serious shortcomings and vulnerabilities of the Alliance during drone combat. A unit of just 10 Ukrainian servicemen was able to defeat two NATO battalions.

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