Defence Minister Al Carns told MPs that the UK is accelerating drone production and reforming procurement to bring uncrewed systems into service faster, following lessons learned from Ukraine’s battlefield use of drones.
Responding to Conservative MP Paul Holmes, Carns said his decision to leave the military was driven by frustration at the slow pace of adaptation to modern warfare. “The lessons from Ukraine, particularly around uncrewed systems, were not being learned within our military,” he told the Commons. “Since then, the strategic defence review has stepped in, with £4 billion for autonomous systems and a new defence uncrewed systems centre. Training, tactics, procedures, doctrine and concepts are all changing to inculcate uncrewed systems.”
Conservative MP Nick Timothy highlighted a new £200 million investment by Ukrainian drone maker Ukrspecsystems, which is building a factory in Mildenhall to create 500 jobs. He urged the government to support such firms facing high energy costs and tax pressures. Carns said the new “uncrewed centre of excellence” was coordinating efforts across government to make procurement more accessible for small and medium-sized enterprises, adding that Ukrspecsystems’ drones had been used “to very high effect” in Ukraine.
Holmes also pressed the minister to uphold a promised visit to Domo Tactical Communications, a drone manufacturer in his constituency, and asked what share of UK military drones come from domestic producers. Carns confirmed the visit would go ahead and said that Britain had “increased our production of drones for Ukraine—up to 100,000 this year alone—and we are increasing the procurement of drones into the British military by thousands.”
Labour MP Anna Dixon raised concerns about access for smaller firms, citing Radio Design, a Saltaire-based company developing advanced radio-frequency technology for counter-drone systems. Carns replied that the government was prioritising industrial partnerships under the Strategic Defence Review, which devotes its first 100 pages to industry engagement and SME inclusion.
“We procured 10,000 drones in 2024,” Carns said, “and the figure has now gone up to 100,000, which are going to Ukraine to support our ally in its fight against Russia.”
