- The UK announced plans this week to mass-produce thousands of interceptor drones for Ukraine.
- The unprecedented deal is one of a few ways the UK is helping to strengthen Ukraine's drone program.
- Ukraine's largest drone manufacturer will also invest $271 million in two new facilities in the UK.
The UK is planning to mass-produce thousands of interceptor drones for Ukraine to help the embattled country fend off worsening Russian bombardments.
The first-of-its-kind deal to build Ukrainian-designed weapons in a European country further underscores the UK's leading role in supporting Kyiv's various drone programs; Britain's government also announced several other ongoing initiatives this week.
UK officials on Wednesday said the joint project — dubbed "Octopus" — is an advanced, low-cost interceptor drone that's designed to chase down incoming threats like drones and missiles and knock them out of the sky. This conserves much more expensive air-defense missiles for Russia's more powerful weapons.
The drones to be built in the UK were designed by Ukraine with support from UK scientists and technicians, and have already been tested in combat against Russia's Shahed-style one-way attack drones. The UK said the interceptors have been "highly effective" on the battlefield.
The UK said each interceptor drone will cost less than 10% to produce compared to the value of their Russian targets, estimated to be worth just tens of thousands of dollars. The goal is to make "thousands" a month to provide to Ukraine. The Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank estimated that each Shahed drone costs roughly $35,000.
The defense ministry declined to say which manufacturer is behind the project or where, exactly, the drones will be produced in the UK. Russia has threatened countries that provide weapons to Ukraine and has reportedly plotted to kill the CEO of a leading German arms manufacturer.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal praised the interceptors for their success against the Shaheds. "We will scale up production, attract investment, and improve technologies to better protect our cities and civilians from air attacks," he said on Thursday.
Interceptor drones have emerged as a key air defense tool for Ukraine in recent months as Russia expands its nightly drone attacks. In July, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy set a goal for companies to produce 1,000 of these drones a day, pushing manufacturers to scale up production to keep pace with Moscow, which has invested heavily in the production of one-way attack drones.
Russia has significantly expanded the main factory where it produces variants of the Iranian-designed Shahed-136, and has built new drone launch sites. Moscow is already capable of sending hundreds of them into Ukraine in a single night; some Western assessments suggest this figure could soar to 2,000.
Project Octopus comes just months after UK and Ukrainian leaders announced a new industrial partnership between the two countries, and after European countries were forced to scramble to respond to an unprecedented Russian drone incursion into Poland.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Wednesday that Britain and its allies would "step up" support to Kyiv amid Moscow's unrelenting bombardments. He called the new partnership "a landmark moment, bringing together British and Ukrainian ingenuity to deliver cutting-edge defense drone technology to fight back against Russian aggression."
According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the UK is the third-highest provider of military aid to Ukraine, having allocated nearly 14 billion euros ($16.5 billion) since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Only Germany ($19.4 billion) and the US ($75.4 billion) have sent more security assistance.
Project Octopus is not the only area where the UK is helping provide Ukraine with much-needed drone support.
On Tuesday, Britain's defense ministry said it will fund the delivery of thousands of UK-made long-range attack drones — essentially cruise missiles that can be remotely piloted to their targets — which are considered "vital" for Ukraine's defense, over the next year. The Trump administration, by contrast, has signaled it won't provide Ukraine with longer-range missiles like the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS.
This initiative is part of the UK-led International Fund for Ukraine, which turns contributions from partner nations into high-priority military equipment for Kyiv.
Ukraine has used long-range drones to carry out deep strikes into Russia, targeting high-value military and energy targets sometimes hundreds of miles behind the front lines. These include key air bases, ammunition depots, weapons production facilities, and oil terminals.
This campaign initially emerged as a way for Ukraine to work around restrictions set in place by Western countries, which barred Kyiv from using the powerful cruise and ballistic missiles that they had donated to strike inside Russia. These restrictions have since been loosened, with the exception of the US.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's largest drone manufacturer, Ukrspecsystems, announced plans last week to invest £200 million ($271 million) in two new UK facilities, a plan that will create hundreds of local jobs.
"It marks the first major investment by a Ukrainian defence company into the UK," John Healey, the UK defense minister, said during his closing speech at the Defence and Security Equipment International expo on Thursday.
