LVIV, Ukraine: Exclusive — The same Iranian-designed Shahed drones that rain down Lviv in Ukraine nearly every night are now being hunted by weapons built just miles away — inside hidden factories where former students and office workers assemble kamikaze drones and interceptor systems around the clock.

What began as an improvised wartime effort has evolved into one of the world’s fastest-growing military drone industries — one Ukrainian official says Kyiv now leads NATO in battlefield innovation and can offer hard-won lessons for the U.S. and Israel as they confront the same Iranian drone technology across the Gulf.

«Drone technology completely changed the situation in the frontline,» Lviv Mayor, Andriy Sadovyi, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview, «Maybe in six months, maybe in one year, we will have technology to land 1,000 drones in one moment.

POLAND SEEKS ANSWERS AFTER PENTAGON SCRAPS PLANNED US ARMORED BRIGADE ROTATION

«If we will have more deep collaboration between Ukraine, the United States, Israel and Europe, we will prepare special equipment for our victory,» he said.

Dmytro, CEO of a Ukrainian drone manufacturer producing roughly 1,000 drones a week, told Fox News Digital, «We are three or four steps ahead of other countries…this is a new kind of war,» he said. «It is a war of IT technology.»

Cheap drones now allow small battlefield units to identify and destroy tanks, armored vehicles and even sophisticated air defense systems that once required expensive missiles or fighter aircraft.

That transformation is visible throughout western Ukraine, where defense technology hubs, secret workshops and testing facilities now operate, while in the cities air raid sirens regularly interrupt daily life.

Drone components and battlefield systems assembled at a Ukrainian manufacturing facility in an undisclosed location in western Ukraine. (Efrat Lachter/Fox News Digital)

Inside the workshop Fox News Digital visited, workers moved rapidly between tables stacked with propellers, fiber-optic cable and other classified drone components. The workers say they no longer see themselves as civilians temporarily helping the war effort. Many now view drone production as essential to Ukraine’s survival.

Vitaliy, one of the technicians assembling kamikaze drones destined for the front line, said he now builds hundreds of drone components a day. «Targets will be vehicles, tanks, troopers, positions,» he told Fox News Digital.

NATO ALLY POLAND WARNS RUSSIA, BELARUS PUSHING ILLEGAL MIGRANTS TOWARD ALLIANCE — AND THE US

A soldier launches an RQ-35 Heidrun drone used for reconnaissance and artillery fire correction in the Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine on Feb. 22, 2026.  (Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Referring to President Donald Trump’s statement that he will end the war, Vitaliy said, «I feel honored because I’m helping my country to get peace much faster,» Vitaliy added. «Peace through strength — this is our motivation. But it is mostly on us, for sure,» he said.

Ukraine’s domestic drone production has expanded at a staggering pace. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Serhiy Boev said earlier this year the country aims to produce more than seven million drones in 2026, up from roughly four million in 2025.

From AI-assisted battlefield systems to drones resistant to Russian electronic warfare, Ukraine’s wartime innovations are exposing vulnerabilities in traditional Western military doctrine.

At another defense technology hub in Lviv, rows of interceptor drones, unmanned ground vehicles and remotely operated weapons systems fill a showroom demonstrating Ukraine’s rapidly evolving battlefield ecosystem.

«We have around 250 tech companies in the system,» said Volodymyr Cherniuk, co-founder of Iron, a Ukrainian defense technology cluster.

Some drones are designed for reconnaissance. Others for evacuation, logistics or direct strike missions. One heavy-lift drone used for nighttime attacks has earned the nickname «Baba Yaga» from Russian troops, which Cherniuk translated as «boogeyman.»

Another interceptor drone is designed specifically to hunt Iranian-made Shahed drones that Russia uses in nightly attacks on Ukrainian cities.

UKRAINE’S ‘SPIDER’S WEB’ DRONE STRIKE BURNS OVER 40 RUSSIAN WARPLANES, MOSCOW CALLS IT ‘TERRORIST ATTACK’

«They can go 300 kilometers per hour,» Cherniuk said. «One hundred grams is enough to shut down a Shahed.»

«We have a lot of Americans, Canadians, Europeans who come here and want our data, feedback from the front line,» Dmytro said. 

The remains of a Russian-made, Iran-designed Shahed-136 drone, known in Russia as a Geran-2, are displayed with other recovered drones, glide bombs, missiles and rockets in Kharkiv on July 30, 2025. (Scott Peterson/Getty Images)

As Fox News Digital reported from Lviv, air raid sirens repeatedly echoed across the city, a reminder that western Ukraine remains within reach of Russia’s expanding drone campaign.

Russia has dramatically escalated its aerial assaults in the recent week after the end of the short ceasefire, launching massive drone barrages targeting cities and logistical hubs across Ukraine, including areas near NATO territory close to the Polish border.

Ukraine has also increasingly demonstrated its ability to strike deep inside Russian territory with long-range drone attacks targeting areas around Moscow and Russian energy infrastructure.

But the evolving drone war has also increasingly spilled beyond Ukraine and Russia’s borders into NATO territory.

In recent weeks, drones linked to Ukrainian long-range strike operations entered the airspace of Baltic alliance members including Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, triggering political fallout and renewed concerns about regional air defenses. Latvian Defense Minister Andris Sprūds resigned after drones crashed near fuel storage facilities close to the Russian border.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

A Russian plant assembling Iranian Shahed drones is targeted in a mass Ukrainian drone attack on Tatarstan (East2West)

Ukrainian and Baltic officials blamed Russian electronic warfare and GPS spoofing for redirecting the drones off course, arguing Moscow is increasingly using electronic warfare not only defensively, but also to create instability and political pressure inside NATO countries.

The incidents underscore how the same Iranian-designed Shahed drones Russia uses nightly against Ukrainian cities — and similar long-range drone technologies increasingly used by both sides — are reshaping modern warfare far beyond the battlefield itself.

This article is Part I of a Fox News Digital investigative series examining allegations that the communist government of Cuba built an influence network inside the United States that federal authotiries are now investigating. Part I focuses on the network’s rapid response following the indictment of Cuban leader Raúl Castro.

Just nine minutes after U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced murder charges against Cuban leader Raúl Castro for the 1996 shootdown of two civilian aircraft flown by exile group Brothers to the Rescue, a coordinated rapid response network was already mobilizing across the U.S. to defend Castro and the Communist Party of Cuba.

At 1:54 p.m. on Wednesday, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, a Marxist political organization deeply embedded in a «Hands Off Cuba» campaign, published six pre-produced graphics denouncing the indictment as a «BASELESS INDICTMENT OF RAUL CASTRO» and «A PRETEXT FOR ANOTHER WAR.»

Hours later, at 3:18 a.m. early Thursday morning, Vijay Prashad, executive director at Tricontinental, a Marxist think tank, wrote on X, «Cuba is not a menace to the world. The United States is a menace to the world. The world stands with Raúl Castro, hero of the Cuban Revolution. The world turns its back on Donald Trump, clown of human destruction.» Manolo De Los Santos, executive director of the People’s Forum, a New York-based nonprofit, shared the message without a word, as did leaders from CodePink, another leftist organization.

Then, 24 hours after Blanche’s announcement, at 1:46 p.m. on Thursday, BreakThrough News, a media platform aligned with the same activist ecosystem, published a video featuring defiant Cubans, with one man declaring, «We won’t hand over Raúl.»

Fox News Digital has learned that Justice and Treasury Department officials are investigating U.S. nonprofits and activist groups for allegedly coordinating lobbying, messaging, fundraising, delegations and political organizing efforts with Cuban government officials as part of a possible foreign influence campaign operating inside the United States.

A Fox News Digital investigation has identified 145 nonprofits, labor groups, advocacy organizations and activist collectives across the U.S. that are mobilizing in support of the Cuban government and the Communist Party of Cuba. Together, the organizations report about $1 billion in combined annual revenue.

LAWMAKERS RAISE ALARM OVER NEVILLE ROY SINGHAM’S $278M NETWORK SPREADING CCP PROPAGANDA IN THE U.S.

To U.S. national security officials examining the influence of foreign governments in the U.S., the rapid-response messaging campaign offers a striking example of how quickly the nationwide Cuba «solidarity» infrastructure synchronizes political messaging across nonprofits, media platforms, labor organizations and activist coalitions following major geopolitical developments involving the Cuban regime.

Making the alleged influence campaign even more complicated, the ANSWER Coalition, Party for Socialism and Liberation, BreakThrough News, CodePink, People’s Forum and Tricontinental are all part of a network funded by American expatriate tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham, who lives in Shanghai, supporting the Chinese Communist Party and its global agenda, including its defense of the communist regime in Cuba.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokeswoman for the Embassy of Cuba in Washington denied any improper activity and said the country’s diplomats operate within the bounds of the Vienna Convention, where Article 41 states that diplomats «have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs» of a state.

«Cuban diplomats strictly comply with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,» the embassy spokeswoman said, noting that «part of diplomatic work» is to «promote friendly relations» and «interact with organizations and institutions of civil society in the State to which one is accredited.»

The embassy added that «it is neither extraordinary, nor a violation of any international or U.S. law, for Cuban diplomats to engage with civil society,» and said it doesn’t encourage Americans «to overthrow or act against the constitutional order of the United States.»

Sources familiar with the probe said investigators are also examining the activities of several prominent activists and organizers connected to the Cuba solidarity movement, including Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin and CodePink D.C. coordinator Olivia DiNucci.

DHS, WAR DEPT JOIN PROBE INTO SINGHAM NETWORK ALLEGEDLY SOWING DISCORD IN US

Hasan Piker, a Democratic Socialists of America member, and CodePink co-founder Jodie Evans meet in Havana, Cuba, as part of a «United Front» supporting the communist regime. (NO ACCESS EDGE/NNS/FNS/OUTKICK/CodePink)

Federal investigators are also probing about 40 Americans who allegedly coordinated with Cuban government officials to bring goods and supplies to Cuba in «convoys» and «flotillas» earlier this year, sources told Fox News Digital.

The organizations under scrutiny span labor unions, activist nonprofits, solidarity campaigns, travel networks, socialist political groups and media operations.

The pro-communist Cuba ecosystem includes seven clear communities:

• Singham network: ANSWER Coalition; BreakThrough News; CodePink; International People’s Assembly and its affiliates; Liberation News and Party for Socialism and Liberation; People’s Forum and its fiscally-sponsored projects, Venceremos Brigade and Hatuey Project; Tricontinental Institute; IFCO and its Pastors for Peace project,
• Labor unions and labor activists: AFL-CIO-affiliated organizers, International Association of Machinists Local 1484, Labor/Community Strategy Center, Service Employees International Union, Teamsters tied to Amazon labor campaigns, United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers Local 36
• Cuba travel brigades, convoys and delegations: Activist flotilla and humanitarian caravan organizers; Global Exchange; Hands Off Cuba Committees; National Network on Cuba; Nuestra América Convoy organizers
• Socialist, Marxist, Communist organizations: African People’s Socialist Party, Communist Party USA, Democratic Socialists of America, Peace and Freedom Party, Socialist Unity Party, Socialist Workers Party
• Media and propaganda ecosystem: activist social media amplification campaigns, anti-imperialist podcasts and livestream networks, BreakThrough News, BT News, Liberation News, Tricontinental
• Legal, academic and institutional networks: National Lawyers Guild; church and faith-based solidarity organizations, educational outreach organizers working in schools and campuses, , professors tied to Cuba delegations and anti-sanctions campaigns, university-based Cuba solidarity groups
• Humanitarian and aid infrastructure: agricultural solidarity campaigns, Global Health Partners, medical supply campaigns, «people-to-people» exchange organizers, solar panel fundraising drives

600 GROUPS WITH $2B IN REVENUE MOBILIZE 3,000 MAY DAY PROTESTS IN A ‘RED-BLUE’ ALLIANCE, PROBE FINDS

Investigators are also scrutinizing travel and delegation infrastructure tied to the network, including organizations coordinating labor trips, educational exchanges, people-to-people tours, activist brigades and humanitarian convoys to Cuba.

Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Americans who engage in political activities in the United States at the direction or control of a foreign government may be required to register with the Justice Department. Advocacy itself is protected under the First Amendment, and registration under FARA doesn’t prohibit political activity. Investigators are examining whether any organizations crossed the line from independent activism into coordinated activity directed by Cuban government officials.

Investigators are examining whether some organizations and activists are coordinating lobbying, messaging, delegations, fundraising and political organizing efforts with Cuban government officials without registering under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, known as FARA, according to sources familiar with the inquiry.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, enforces the decades-old U.S. sanctions regime against Cuba, including restrictions on financial transactions, material support, shipping and the transfer of goods and services to the island.

While humanitarian exemptions and licensed travel categories exist, investigators are examining whether some activists and nonprofit groups coordinated shipments, fundraising, «convoys,» flotillas and aid campaigns in ways that may have violated sanctions regulations or evaded reporting requirements.

CHINA SLAMS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER US SANCTIONS ON CUBA

Investigators are also scrutinizing whether organizations used intermediary nonprofits, fiscally sponsored projects or generic donation language in ways that obscured Cuba-related transactions that otherwise could have triggered additional compliance scrutiny under OFAC regulations.

One fundraising page soliciting solar panel donations for Cuba instructed donors: «Please do not write ‘Cuba’ in donation comments or on the memo line of checks. Simply write ‘Urgent Aid.’»

Sources familiar with the probe said investigators are also examining the activities of several prominent activists and organizers connected to the Cuba solidarity movement, including Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, CodePink cofounder Medea Benjamin and CodePink D.C. coordinator Olivia DiNucci.

«Cuba is 100% operating a foreign influence operation in the U.S.,» said Heritage Foundation senior fellow Mike Gonzalez, a Cuban-born author who has written extensively on communist influence operations in Latin America.

He described Cuba as «ground zero for anti-American revolutionary organizing in the Western Hemisphere.»

Gonzalez told Fox News Digital, «Cuba is a prep school for revolutionaries.»

«The Cuban regime has spent decades building influence networks inside universities, labor groups, activist nonprofits, churches and solidarity organizations in the U.S.,» Gonzalez said. «The key question for investigators is whether these organizations crossed the line from protected activism into coordinated political activity directed by a foreign government.»

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

La empresa SpaceX volvió a sacudir el mundo aeroespacial este viernes con el lanzamiento de la última versión de su megacohete Starship, en un vuelo de prueba que mantuvo en vilo a empleados, especialistas y fanáticos de la exploración espacial.

El despegue, que se realizó desde Texas tras dos postergaciones por fallas técnicas, fue un éxito hasta que el amerizaje terminó en una explosión que sorprendió a todos.

El vuelo duró más de 65 minutos y fue seguido en vivo por miles de personas. El cohete despegó poco después de las 17.30 (hora de Texas) y, según confirmaron desde la empresa, las dos partes del aparato se separaron correctamente.

Sin embargo, el propulsor no completó la combustión prevista y cayó de manera rápida e incontrolada en el golfo de México.

Aunque la compañía no tenía planes de recuperarlo intacto, sí contaba con hacerlo amerizar en un punto concreto.

“¡Amerizaje confirmado!”, escribió la empresa en X. En el video se puede escuchar cómo el control de misión celebró el amerizaje de la nave en el océano Índico, tal como estaba planeado.

Los aplausos dejaron lugar a algunos gritos de sorpresa cuando la nave explotó tras tocar el agua.

El vuelo de Starship: éxito, susto y un paso más cerca de la Luna

El portavoz de SpaceX, Dan Huot, explicó durante la transmisión que el cohete no se encontraba exactamente en la órbita correcta por un fallo en uno de sus motores.

Para compensar, los otros cinco motores funcionaron más tiempo de lo previsto. “Yo no lo llamaría una inserción orbital nominal”, reconoció Huot, aunque aclaró que la trayectoria estaba “dentro de los márgenes preestablecidos”.

Mientras tanto, los empleados de SpaceX estallaron en júbilo cuando la nave comenzó a desplegar un conjunto de satélites de prueba y dos satélites Starlink especialmente modificados, equipados con cámaras para analizar el escudo térmico del artefacto.

El propio Elon Musk celebró el logro en X y calificó el vuelo de “épico”. “Marcaron un gol para la humanidad”, escribió el magnate, que sigue apostando fuerte por el futuro de la exploración espacial.

Un lanzamiento clave para el futuro de SpaceX y la carrera lunar

El lanzamiento de este viernes fue el duodécimo vuelo de prueba de Starship, siete meses después del anterior. Con sus 124 metros de altura, el nuevo modelo es el más grande hasta ahora y representa una apuesta fuerte de la compañía, que acaba de presentar la documentación para salir a la Bolsa. La oferta pública inicial (OPI) se espera para junio y podría romper récords.

Pero hay mucho más en juego: SpaceX tiene un contrato con la NASA para desarrollar una versión modificada de Starship destinada a los programas lunares. La agencia espacial estadounidense planea enviar astronautas a la Luna en 2028 y busca adelantarse a China, que también quiere lograr una misión tripulada antes de 2030.

El experto aeroespacial Clayton Swope, del Centro de Estudios Estratégicos e Internacionales, destacó que “la versión mejorada de Starship hizo la mayor parte de lo que SpaceX esperaba que hiciera durante el lanzamiento”, aunque advirtió que pasó bastante tiempo desde el último vuelo de prueba.

Tras la prueba, el director de la NASA, Jared Isaacman, publicó en X: “Un paso más cerca de la Luna… un paso más cerca de Marte”.

La competencia por conquistar la Luna y el futuro de la exploración espacial

Tanto SpaceX como su rival Blue Origin (la empresa de Jeff Bezos) están ajustando sus estrategias para priorizar los proyectos lunares. La NASA planea probar en 2027 un encuentro en órbita entre su nave y uno o dos módulos lunares, con el objetivo de concretar un alunizaje tripulado antes de que termine 2028.

El vuelo de Starship fue un paso clave en esa carrera, aunque el final explosivo dejó en claro que los desafíos técnicos siguen presentes. Para SpaceX, cada prueba es una apuesta fuerte: el futuro de la empresa, su salida a la Bolsa y la conquista de la Luna están en juego.