LONDON — The United Kingdom will scale up interceptor-drone technology developed by Ukraine and plans to deliver thousands of drones to the embattled country every month, Defence Secretary John Healey said at the DSEI UK defense show here on Thursday.
Under Project Octopus, Ukraine will share intellectual property related to an interceptor drone that has been “highly effective” against Shahed one-way attack drones, Healey said, following an agreement signed with his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal.
In return, the U.K. will further develop and mass produce the drones, which Healey says cost less than 10% of the Russian systems they destroy.
With Ukraine and Russia deploying drones on the battlefield in the millions, the race is on to develop cost-effective counters, a focus at DSEI UK this year. While Healey didn’t elaborate on the cost of the interceptor drone, the Center for Strategic and International Studies put the estimated cost of a Shahed at $35,000 in a February report.
“Our Ukrainian friends will share this technology and the IP with the U.K.,” Healey said. “In turn, together we’ll rapidly develop this further, and then mass produce it, supplying thousands of interceptor drones back into Ukraine each month.”
The agreement follows an announcement this month by drone maker Ukrspecsystems to invest £200 million in two manufacturing facilities in the U.K., the first major investment by a Ukrainian defense company in the country, Healey said.
For the U.K., the agreement gives it access to what Healey called Ukraine’s world-leading technologies and speed of innovation, while Britain can provide advanced manufacturing and robotics. He said the challenge is to demonstrate that the U.K. can add value to what he called a “stand-out innovating and manufacturing system” in Ukraine.
“There’s lots of potential, but the challenge now is, can we deliver on our side of what we promise the Ukrainians?” Healey said. “And if we can over the next few months, that you’ll start to see Britain making an even more significant contribution to their defense and their medium-term prospects, and to stepping up the speed and the equipping our own forces with what’s needed for the future.”
Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.
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