The UK has announced its largest-ever drone package for Ukraine, delivering at least 120,000 drones this year to support Kyiv’s fight against Russian aggression. The deal will also drive growth and jobs across British industry, with most investment going to UK-based firms such as Tekever, Windracers, and Malloy Aeronautics.
Defence Secretary John Healey, who travels to Berlin to co-chair the 34th Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting alongside German, Ukrainian, and NATO leaders, said: “In the fifth year of Putin’s brutal war, the UK is stepping up further.” He added that the battle-proven drones—including long-range strike, reconnaissance, logistics, and maritime systems—will help Ukrainian forces defend their people and counter Russian attacks. Deliveries have already begun this month.
The package comes as Russia intensifies its drone warfare, launching some 6,500 one-way attack drones against Ukraine in March 2026 alone—a sharp rise from February. The UK’s support forms part of a broader £3 billion military aid commitment this year, including hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds and thousands of air defence missiles.
Healey stressed that despite global distractions, “nothing will distract us from continuing to stand with them for as long as it takes to secure peace.” The announcement follows a new UK-Ukraine defence partnership signed last month, aimed at countering the proliferation of low-cost, high-tech military hardware.
Meanwhile, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce further support later today at a meeting of international finance ministers in Washington DC. The new drone package builds on a £500 million air defence package announced in February, which included missiles manufactured in Belfast and funding for NATO’s priority requirements list.
