Britain will deliver more than 10,000 drones to the Ukrainian armed forces part of a new £325 million military aid package, British defence secretary Grant Shapps announced during a visit to Kyiv on Thursday.
“In a significant boost to the £200m drone package announced by the Prime Minister in January, the now £325m overall funding commitment will deliver over 10,000 uncrewed platforms – the majority of which are first-person view (FPV) drones,1000 one-way attack drones which have been researched and developed in the UK, as well as surveillance and maritime drones,” said Shapps.
“I am ramping up our commitment to arm Ukraine with cutting-edge new drones coming directly from the UK’s world-leading defence industries — straight from the factory floor to the frontline. I encourage international partners to join the UK in this effort,” Shapps said in a statement after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Drones have been a gamechanger in the Ukraine conflict, helping make up for Kyiv’s relative lack of troops. Last month, Zelenskyy announced a new “Unmanned Systems Force,” which brought military drones under a single command.
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine have earned significant attention for their highly effective use of different types of drones – destroying and damaging thousands of pieces of Russian equipment and vehicles, using much cheaper systems,” Shapps said in a release. Highly manoeuvrable FPV drones, which allow the operator the ability to finely control the movements of the drone in real time, have been successfully used to bypass Russian air defences to hit their targets.
“These drones have proven highly effective on the battlefield since Russia’s full-scale invasion, providing situational awareness to target enemy positions and armoured vehicles. Ukrainian forces have also used these drones effectively to strike at the heart of Russia’s Navy. With more than £100M of this package being spent on maritime capabilities, Ukraine will continue to turn the tide in the Black Sea,” he said.
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