Ukraine’s largest drone manufacturer, Ukrspecsystems, has announced a £200 million investment programme in East Anglia, including a new 11,000m² factory at Mildenhall and a test and training site at Elmsett, Suffolk.
The project is expected to create up to 500 jobs and apprenticeships across the region, with onboarding of the UK workforce due to begin later this year. Production of drones is scheduled to start in early 2026.
The announcement comes days after Lotus confirmed 550 job cuts at its Hethel headquarters in Norfolk, underlining the significance of new investment for the area. Ukrspecsystems has said it plans to expand further in the UK over the next three years.
Rory Chamberlain, Managing Director UK at Ukrspecsystems, said: “Ukrspecsystems is proud to be the first Ukrainian company to commit to a funded plan to invest in infrastructure, jobs and skills in the UK. Our factory at Mildenhall and flight test and training facility at Elmsett are testament to this commitment. Our unmatched battle winning technology and know-how, coupled with UK aviation and industrial expertise, will enable Ukrspecsystems to become the global leader in uncrewed systems in both the civil and military sectors, and establish the UK as a launch pad for export markets.”
Defence Procurement Minister Maria Eagle MP welcomed the news, stating: “We stand united with Ukraine and we recognise its world-leading drone capabilities. By collaborating with Ukrainian companies like Ukrspecsystems we will benefit from access to cutting-edge designs and innovative technologies, strengthening the UK’s Armed Forces and those of our partners. This £200 million investment will also improve our industrial base and create up to 500 jobs, driving economic growth and prosperity around the country – core elements of our upcoming Defence Industrial Strategy.”
Local leaders also highlighted the significance for East Anglia. Cllr Richard Smith, Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Finance, Economic Development and Skills, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for our region, and a clear demonstration of the enormous potential East Anglia offers to ambitious and growing businesses. With our strong business networks and record of championing enterprise and innovation, this area will provide an ideal location for Ukrspecsystems’ expansion into the UK. I am particularly pleased we have been able to assist this investment through Norfolk and Suffolk Unlimited, which provides tailored support for businesses looking to establish themselves across the region.”
Ukrspecsystems, whose drones have been widely used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, will be exhibiting at DSEI 2025 at ExCeL London from 9–12 September, where it is expected to announce further UK partnerships.
Good news! Does anyone know what sort of drones they are making and whether the supply chain excludes China, which I understand is the goal of Ukrainian produced drones? Unless I’m blind I didn’t see it in the article.
I’d guess John will have an idea.
Money 💰 laundering it’s best! Ukraine a wartorn country before the wars was amongst the most corrupt in the world! Suddenly has a big defence industry exporting to the UK with investments of 200 million while begging money to fund it’s wars? That does not add up at all! Ukrainians oligarchs are famous for money laundering.
Even if it wasn’t for the hilarious nonsense they post, it’s always easy to spot Russian bots by their poor English and post time-stamp. 😂
Especially hilarious when you consider the terrorist state long standing attempts to launder oligarch money through UK property and shell companies.
Pot, meet Kettle…
Every accusation is a confession. #47
Reading again, I tend to agree.
If British, very poor grammar.
Don’t know about Chinese suppliers, but it looks like they use US camera pods for the recce version of their PD-2 which is a 45 to 55 kg max all up weight Uncrewed Air System. It comes in two variants, VTOL and conventional take off and landing, both able to carry 11kg payload. The VTOL is the heavier and has a 8hr endurance while the conventional version has a 10hr endurance. It looks like a very well engineered little aircraft able to undertake recce and cargo missions.
It also has a 3 aircraft range of recce UAS called the Shark-M, Shark-D and the Mini Shark, the latter being man portable and hand launched.
All looks very professional, just search UKRSPECSYSTEMS…
Cheers CR
It’s money laundering mate! A country begging for money to fund it’s wars defence company investing 200 million pounds in the UK? Who are we kidding here and is benefiting? How come Ukraine before the war has no such funds ? The money that was given and stolen by the elites is coming back to our market through their ownership
Well I’m going to open up a Launderette then.
Bog-off, lying Russian orc.
Are we back then ?
Funny things happened here the last couple of days, I seemed to not be able to comment as everything was flagged as Spam, (more so than normal) then I had security anti Bot warnings and device checks ! WTF was all that about then ?
Any one else have this ?
Luckily I had stuff to do otherwise I don’t know how I would have coped !!! 😁🤡
Lotus Job Cuts are another blow to the *UK car industry*
Bring back TVR I say !
“Lotus cars are now owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, a Chinese multinational automotive company, after Geely acquired a controlling stake in 2017 and later fully integrated the separate Lotus sports car and lifestyle electric divisions under the Lotus brand in a 2025 corporate restructuring. While Lotus remains a British brand headquartered in the UK, Geely’s ownership has transitioned it into a global, high-tech car manufacturer. ”
Hard to see why any freedom loving driver would support the CCP dictatorship that doesn’t respect fair trade, international rule of law, intellectual property and human rights.
Hopefully the workers made redundant will get more than the statutory minimum settlement..
They do a couple of ranges of ISR drones and supporting control systems. The flagship drones in the picture, PD-2s, look like medium-expensive drones to me, rather than the pile ’em high sell ’em cheap model. Maybe £300K-£400K a unit. 180km+ comms, 8hrs duration, 11kg payload (including optional SAR), VTOL or runway. They also advertise variants of the cheaper, catapult-launched Shark drone, which has been around long enough to get a Wiki entry. Those look to be about £250,000 per three drone system, including ground control. These also do signal repeating for stike drones, making the most of the long comms range. There’s also a hand-launched mini-shark, which spec drops to 35km comms, 2hrs duration, and carries a camera.
They also do cameras, UAV components and training.
They seem to be well thought-out, packages, as you might expect given their birth conditions.
I missed the fact that they do SATCOM versions as well.
I wonder if these might be of interest to the Navy as a step-up from Puma. A fixed-wing VTOL drone alternative to Banshees for Project Vampire. I never thought Banshees were that good a fit for ISR. It would swap far greater duration and distance for the Banshee’s speed and payload. Perhaps the Banshee’s need for ramp launch and parachute recovery makes it even more awkward than a 5m wingspan drone that can do VTOL.