UK prioritise British suppliers in UAV funds for Ukraine
British suppliers will build the majority of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) that the UK government will finance for Ukraine in this financial year.
“We are on track to spend over 70% through UK suppliers,” said Luke Pollard, the UK Minister of the Armed Forces, just five months into the forecast period.
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This latest figure stems from the government’s promise to provide 100,000 drones in a £350m investment package to aid the beleaguered nation in its conflict against invading Russian forces before the end of 2025. If the UK meets this target, it would see a considerable uptick: ten times more systems than last year.
But this leaves another 30% of UK-financed drones to come from other international suppliers.
Breakdown of Ukraine’s UAV supply
Army Technology contacted the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to find out which specific foreign drone-builders are financed by the UK government but the department declined to comment for security reasons. Nor did the MoD offer any information about the leading types of UAV sent to Ukraine.
But it is believed that Ukraine’s global UAV supply chain covers a complicated industrial web from which the Western-backed country sources cheap components from China, one of Russia’s few strategic partners.
Likewise, some Russian weapons systems obtained from the frontline were similarly powered by components sourced from the US companies such as Intel, a computer processor builder which the US government holds a 10% ownership stake.
Effect on the battlefield
UAVs have changed the modern threat landscape, accounting for the destruction of up to 70% of Russian systems. Particularly, UAVs have adjusted how units operate – experts have pointed to Russia’s revival of motorcycles, buggies, and ATVs to rapidly outmanoeuvre the stalking systems.
According to GlobalData intelligence, the global drones market will reach $89.8 billion by 2030, up from $32.2bn in 2024. Revenue from commercial drones will surpass military sales in 2025, driven by favourable regulations and an increase in beyond visual line of sight operations.
Although one expert from the Royal United Services Institute in London advises that this should not lead to overreliance. It would be a mistake for Nato forces to rely heavily on massed small UAVs and long range one-way effectors to replace traditional weapons systems, such as artillery, in pursuit of improved lethality.
