United Kingdom boosts Ukraine with a record drone delivery
The United Kingdom has announced a dramatic expansion of its military support to Ukraine, pledging a tenfold increase in drone deliveries as part of its ongoing commitment to Ukrainian defence efforts against Russia’s invasion. The announcement was made during a high-level gathering of defence leaders from over 50 countries, hosted in Brussels.
"With more than 10,000 drones delivered to Ukraine last year by the UK, tens of thousands more have already been delivered towards an ambitious new target of 100,000 drones for the current financial year. The record £350m (€415m) investment in drones for Ukraine is part of the UK’s £4.5bn (€5.3bn) military support this year," reads the statement of the Ministry of Defence.
The new package includes hundreds of long-range attack drones with capabilities exceeding 200 kilometers, in addition to thousands of first-person-view drones and surveillance units. The initiative is designed not only to meet immediate battlefield needs but also to build Ukraine’s own capacity to produce and deploy drones domestically.
Additionally, as portal Militarnyi reported, in April 2025 UK and Norway announced a further aid for Ukraine worth £450 (€535) million. According to the portal, the funds will be used to buy more drones for the Ukrainian military. As it is noted, the funds comes from the already existing fundings.
Cooperation between the UK and Ukraine
"The UK is strengthening its support for Ukraine by delivering hundreds of thousands of additional drones this year and completing a crucial phase in supplying critically needed artillery ammunition," said John Healey ahead of the meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Brussels, co-hosted by the United Kingdom and Germany.
Defence Secretary Healey added that the world is "learning lessons every day from the battlefield in Ukraine, which British companies are using to develop advanced new drones to help protect Ukraine’s civilians and also strengthen our own national security."
The statement comments on the cooperation between Great Britain and Ukraine, highlighting that "Many of the drones built in the UK harness new cutting-edge technology." The drones are used "from highly manoeuvrable first-person view (FPV) drones to precisely attack Russian targets" and "to interceptor drones designed to boost Ukraine’s air defence by destroying Russian missiles and drones." As the ministry notes, the new fibre-optic drones are "tethered via a cable which safeguards against jamming from Russian electronic warfare systems."
