UK to deliver more than 10,000 drones as part of £325m package for Ukraine

The UK is sending Ukraine more than 10,000 drones in a £325m package that was announced during Defence Secretary Grant Shapps' visit to Kyiv.

The aid deal, which adds £125m on top of the £200m package that had already been announced by the Prime Minister, will deliver drones for first-person view (FPV), one-way attack – being researched and developed in the UK – and surveillance and maritime purposes.

Mr Shapps and the Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, went to Ukraine to reaffirm their support for President Volodymyr Zelensky and his defence minister, Rustem Umerov.

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• Ukrainian military claims to have sunk another Russian warship with surface attack drones

Drones are vital to Ukraine's war effort, being deployed to target enemy positions, armoured vehicles and ships with explosive ordnance.

Ukraine demonstrated the effectiveness of FPV drones by using them to attack two Russian amphibious landing ships in the Black Sea. 

Videos showing the sinking of the Caesar Kunikov and the Ivanovets circulated online after footage taken by the attack drones was released by Ukraine.

Mr Shapps said: "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."

He added: "Ukraine's armed forces are using UK-donated weapons to unprecedented effect to help lay waste to nearly 30% of Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

"On my third visit to this great country, I was pleased to be able to offer my firm reassurance to President Zelenskyy on the UK's unwavering commitment to the brave people and military forces of Ukraine."

The news comes as a new strategy backed by at least £4.5bn of investment over the next decade will speed up access to uncrewed systems for the UK's Armed Forces, inspired by the lessons learnt from the use of drones in Ukraine.

The UK Defence Drone Strategy will harness innovative capabilities across UK defence, including the use of rapid experimentation, testing and evaluation of uncrewed platforms, and unifying the approach of the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.