The UK is ramping up its support for Ukraine with a target to achieve a tenfold increase in production and procurement of drones to deliver to Ukraine this year.
With more than 10,000 drones delivered to Ukraine last year by the UK, tens of thousands more have already been delivered towards an ambitious new target of 100,000 drones for the current financial year. The record £350m investment in drones for Ukraine is part of the UK’s £4.5bn military support this year.
As Ukraine’s Armed Forces have demonstrated the effectiveness of drone warfare in defending against Putin’s illegal invasion, the UK has been doubling down on investment in drones with British defence companies, including small to medium sized enterprises, supporting the UK economy and jobs, as part of the government’s Plan for Change.
Convening a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) with his German counterpart, the Defence Secretary will also announce that the UK will spend a further £247m this year on training the Armed Forces of Ukraine, supporting its highly successful programme of training for Ukrainian recruits on British soil, Operation Interflex, which has provided more than 55,000 Ukrainian recruits with basic combat training since 2022 – with contributions from 13 partner nations.
Ukrainian units have confirmed that UK-provided drones have helped stabilise parts of the frontline by driving back Russian attacks and protecting Ukrainian lives, and Defence Intelligence has confirmed that drones currently kill more people than artillery on the frontline in Ukraine.
As well as this, the Defence Secretary will confirm the completed delivery of 140,000 artillery munitions by the UK for Ukraine since the start of 2025, in a vital boost for Ukraine’s frontline troops.
As part of the Strategic Defence Review – published on Monday – the government announced more than £4bn for autonomous systems and drones for the UK Armed Forces, to help learn the lessons from Ukraine. This follows the government’s historic commitment to increase defence spending to 2.5% of UK GDP by April 2027.
The Defence Secretary is set to join the German Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, to host Ukrainian Defence Minister, Rustem Umerov, at the latest meeting of the 50-nation strong UDCG at NATO headquarters today (Wednesday).
Defence Secretary John Healey MP said:
The UK is stepping up its support for Ukraine by delivering hundreds of thousands more drones this year and completing a major milestone in the delivery of critical artillery ammunition.
We are learning lessons every day from the battlefield in Ukraine, which British companies are using to develop advanced new drones to help protect Ukraine’s civilians and also strengthen our own national security.
Defence is an engine for growth, delivering on this government’s Plan for Change, and this investment will help keep us secure at home and strong abroad, while ensuring the UK is a world leader in rapidly developing drone technology.
To provide further training and equipment supplies for Ukraine’s forces, the UK will also invest £40m in the trust fund for NATO’s NSATU mission for Ukraine, for which the UK is the framework nation, which is prioritising rapid procurement of spare parts and fuel for vehicles, training, and consumables to support troops in combat.
Artillery is critical to Ukraine’s war effort, holding back Putin’s forces from making significant gains on the frontline. With supply chains around the world under unprecedented strain, securing reliable sources for artillery ammunition is vital for Ukraine’s defence.
Many of the drones built in the UK harness new cutting-edge technology, from highly manoeuvrable first-person view (FPV) drones to precisely attack Russian targets, to interceptor drones designed to boost Ukraine’s air defence by destroying Russian missiles and drones, to new fibre-optic drones which are tethered via a cable which safeguards against jamming from Russian electronic warfare systems.
The UK has also been providing low-cost drones which can drop explosives on Russian positions. Between this type of drone and FPV systems, these two types of drone are reported to be responsible for 60-70% of damage currently caused to Russian equipment.
The UK is fully committed to working with allies to step up support to ensure Ukraine remains in the strongest possible position, which is why £4.5 billion of military support will be provided this year – more than ever before.
