An important agreement has been reached between the United Kingdom and Ukraine on the joint production of drones. Ukrainian drones will be assembled in the United Kingdom at British expense and transferred to Ukraine for at least three years. At the same time, while the russian-Ukrainian war is ongoing, the British will transfer 100% of the products to the Ukrainians.
Such details of the project were announced by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov, adding that "British defense companies will be able to quickly design and produce the most modern drones on a large scale."
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It is also important to pay attention to the new strategy to deliver drones to armed forces that was announced by the UK Ministry of Defence in February 2024. According to this strategy, it is planned to invest in unmanned systems 4.5+ billion pounds sterling (about 570 million US dollars) per year for 10 years. Such investments should allow the British Armed Forces to equip personnel with "critical intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance, strike and logistical capabilities."
The main question, of course, is which UAVs are in question, or at least which areas will receive the highest priority. We can make certain assumptions about what should be interesting to the UK, because this is a joint project and a common interest.
In this regard, we can recall the Brakestop project, which was launched by London in September 2024. Within one year, long-range weapons should be demonstrated, any that meet the following parameters: minimum speed 600 km/h, range: 600 km, warhead weight: 200-300 kg, accuracy: +/–30 meters under active suppression of satellite navigation. It was also stated that the per-unit cost of the UAV should be up to 400,000 pounds (~535,000 US dollars), excluding taxes. In addition, at the initial stage, a production rate of more than 240 units yearly should be ensured. That is, it should be something massive and cheap, and therefore, certain Ukrainian solutions can really come in handy.
Also, back in February 2024, information appeared that the United Kingdom planned to arm Ukraine with AI Drones capable of swarm attack. This was written about by Western media with reference to their own sources.
But so far, these solutions have either not arrived or their use has gone unnoticed. Although it is possible that London financed the purchase of something similar to the HF-1 made by the German defense company Helsing. Therefore, it is possible that we are talking about a similar Ukrainian solution that will be produced in the UK.
After all, the British are now actively searching for a replacement for the Watchkeeper WK450 drone, which has become a real failure for 1.35 billion pounds. This should be a divisional and corps-level UAV with a flight duration of more than 24 hours, as well as the ability to operate in conditions of active use of electronic warfare by the enemy. But in fact, the British army has an objective failure with reconnaissance drones of the brigade and battalion level, not to mention lower ones.
That is, the number of already active projects with which the British want to close the existing gaps is quite significant, and so is the room for mutually beneficial cooperation between the UK and Ukraine.
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