This was stated by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, according to the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
“Together with allies, we are developing the air defense capabilities of Ukraine. This is a historical precedent and the next important step that will allow the production of Ukrainian interceptors in the UK, which have proven their effectiveness in the fight against “Shaheds”, - said the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.
Read more: russians Terrorize Peaceful Citizens of Ukraine with Another Massive Missile Attack, Air Defense of the Country Shot Down 78,2 % of the Missiles
According to him, mass production of interceptors is planned, which could reach several thousand per month. The manufactured means will be transferred to Ukraine to strengthen the defense of Ukraine’s sky.
This example with the Octopus interceptor drone is the most illustrative, as it is the first such Ukrainian-British project for the exchange of defense technologies. This drone was “developed by Ukraine with the support of British scientists and technical specialists”.
Let us recall that plans for serial production in the UK were announced on September 10 of this year. Than in mid-October of this year the terms of the start of the implementation of this truly unique partnership were specified, which are being implemented without delay.
On November 14, the Ukrainian government announced the launch of serial production of the Octopus in Ukraine, noting that the production of this drone was transferred to the first three domestic manufacturers, while another eleven companies were preparing to open their own production lines. This approach allows for the scaling of production of the same type of weapon.
It should be noted that certain details of this project were announced during the DSEI 2025 exhibition in the UK. In particular, as EDR reported, the Octopus was designed by the Ukrainian company Ukrspecsystems (a memder of the National Association of Ukrainian Defense Industry Enterprises, NAUDI), which received additional support from British specialists. It was reported, that production of the Octopus in the UK would be carried out by the British division of the Ukrainian company - Ukrspecsystems UK in Millendhall, in the east of England. At the same time, the first video from this enterprise recently appeared.
From the side of Defense Express, we note that the technical characteristics of the Octopus still remain undisclosed. Only the thing that “its high combat capabilities, which were proven during combat use,” is reported. It is also known that the Octopus interceptor drone can be effectively used at night, under conditions of active use of electronic warfare by the enemy as well as against targets at low altitudes.
In the case of the Octopus interceptor drone, we are talking about a traditional "rocket-like" solution for anti-aircraft drones with X-shaped wings, at the ends of which electric motors with traction propellers are placed. At the same time, for this type of weaponry, the most important thing remains "behind the scenes", for example, a target guidance system.
Therefore, the report that British specialists took part in the development, as well as the readiness to produce these drones in thousands per month, may well be evidence that we are talking about effective and cheap solutions. This can also be confirmed by the fact that, as previously stated during the DSEI 2025 exhibition in the UK, the cost of the Octopus interceptor drone is less than 10% of the cost of russian Shahed/Geran attack drones, which russian terrorists use to terrorize Ukrainians every night.
Read more: UK Accelerates Drone Aid to Ukraine with 85,000 Systems Delivered and New Octopus Interceptor Partnership
