The UK government has confirmed its commitment to significantly increasing the number of drones provided to Ukraine, with plans to deliver over 10,000 aerial and maritime drones this financial year.
This announcement was made in response to a parliamentary question from James Cartlidge, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, regarding the £3.5 billion defence export finance deal for Ukraine announced on 18 July 2024.
In his written response, Luke Pollard, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence, clarified that the increase in drones and other uncrewed systems for the Ukrainian armed forces is primarily funded through the Ministry of Defence’s annual £3 billion support rather than the recent finance deal.
Pollard stated, “The UK is committed to increasing the quantity and quality of drones being provided to Ukraine, through national and international partnerships for example through the UK co-lead Drone Capability Coalition. We will deliver over 10,000 drones (both aerial and maritime) to Ukraine this financial year, with deliveries well underway.”
He further explained that due to rapid changes on the battlefield, these drones are being procured and iterated quickly using the Ministry of Defence’s existing support funds.
“Due to rapid battlefield changes, these drones are being procured and iterated rapidly using the Ministry of Defence’s annual £3 billion of support to Ukraine, rather than the £3.5 billion defence export finance deal,” Pollard noted.
The conflict in Ukraine has seen the deployment of drones on an unprecedented scale. Thousands of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been used to track enemy forces, guide artillery, and bomb targets.
This technological shift has transformed modern warfare, with drones like the tiny, inexpensive FPV (first-person view) drones playing a critical role.
Originally designed for civilian use, these drones are now being repurposed as effective weapons, controlled by pilots on the ground and often crashing into targets laden with explosives. This innovative use of drones underscores the evolving nature of warfare in the 21st century.
Hopefully we are creating a flexible and expandable, indigenous long lasting industry for these as I fear we will be needing them soon enough.
Good, but how about supplying them to the U.K. as well.
I’m sure that will happen. Notwithstanding that they are the defenders and their training and equipment, drones must surely be one of the reasons that the Ukrainians are able to inflict disproportionately heavy losses on Russian forces. Drones will be part of how we ‘increase lethality’.
I just wish I could read U.K. orders 100,000 drones! 🙂
UK is forcing more rapid R&D as well as product testing and iteration from this and has changed some bits of MOD to ‘action this day’ mindsets.
So there is more benefit to be had out of IP and having a supply chain and production line than warehouses full of the previous generation of kit.
Fair comment but you can’t make what you need the day things turn nasty either.
£3 billion of the MOD budget is going direct to Ukraine, that’s more the we spending on the successor submarine program. The US spent a year having a hissy fit about “spending” £12 billion a year almost all of it was reimbursement for the Pentagon sending old stock or export finance credits and we adding another £3.5 billion in export credit as well. The next “richest” nato member Germany just cut funding to Ukraine by 50%.
I can see why Zelenskyy goes out of his way to thank the UK so much.
Boris, for all his faults, sieved the moment and built a coalition.
NLAWS (with intel and other help) was key to stopping the invasion.
UK broke the ‘no tank’ barrier with a few CH2.
Consistent delivery of munitions and money as well as vocal support.
We are, for once, pulling our weight here.
When this war is over (and it will end sometime) UK firms should benefit from assisting UKR with reconstruction, technical assistance, modernising their military and a host of other areas.
Ukraine are producing 1 million drones this year, mostly FPV with prices less than $500. A UK supply of 10,000 isn’t that many. Lets hope that’s because they are larger, non disposable ones.
We should build up a substantial reserve for our own forces first and then supply Ukraine from that. That way our drones would be current tech. Otherwise we buy a large stock of drones and they gather dust and become obsolete.