Mass production of Ukrainian drones in the UK to launch within weeks

MILAN — Mass production of Ukrainian interceptor drones in the United Kingdom is gearing up, as the war-torn country transitions to licensed production of domestically designed weapons in partner countries.

Speaking at a press conference on Oct. 20, British Secretary of State for Defense John Healey said the joint manufacturing project, dubbed Octopus, would begin “within weeks.”

The announcement comes a few days after Ukraine’s government-backed defense technology group Brave1 identified a handful of weapon categories deemed fit for export to Western allies. Over the last few months, Kyiv has explored the possibility of easing its arms transfer ban.

In July, leaders launched a new initiative to authorize allied countries, such as members of the Ramstein group of global backers, to produce Ukrainian systems locally. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that this process will be gradual and will only entail a partial and regulated lift of restrictions limited to weapons in surplus.

According to Healey, the Octopus interceptor, a proven system against Shahed-type attack drones, will become the foundation of the so-called European “drone wall” to deter further Russian aerial threats.

This joint partnership could result in the production rate of around 2,000 units per month, Bloomberg reported on Oct. 10.

“Through Project Octopus, our Ukrainian friends will share the technology and intellectual property with the UK –in turn, we’ll develop this further and mass-produce it to supply thousands of interceptor drones back to Ukraine monthly,” Healey explained earlier.

In September, the privately-owned Ukrainian drone manufacturer Ukrspecsystems announced that it was investing over $267 million in the building of a new factory in Mildenhall, U.K.

The interceptor in question was developed in Ukraine with the support of UK technicians and staff, but reportedly costs less than 10% of the systems it was conceived to target.

Britain is doubling down on its drone capabilities, as Healey also announced the creation of a new U.K. Drone Centre, adding that investments in drone and other autonomous systems would double to total more than £4 billion ($5 billion). The country has committed to spending 10% of its equipment budget on new technologies, starting this year.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

米兰——随着饱受战争蹂躏的乌克兰向授权伙伴国家生产国产武器过渡，英国正在加速生产乌克兰拦截无人机。

英国国防大臣约翰·希利在 10 月 20 日的新闻发布会上表示，这项名为“章鱼”的联合制造项目将在“几周内”启动。

就在几天前，乌克兰政府支持的国防技术集团Brave1公布了一系列适合出口到西方盟国的武器类别。过去几个月，基辅一直在探讨放宽武器转让禁令的可能性。

7月，乌克兰领导人启动了一项新倡议，授权包括拉姆施泰因集团成员国在内的盟国在乌克兰本土生产乌克兰武器系统。乌克兰总统泽连斯基警告说，这一过程将循序渐进，仅涉及对剩余武器的限制进行部分且有条不紊的解除。

据希利称，“章鱼”拦截器是一种经过验证的对抗“沙赫德”型攻击无人机的系统，它将成为所谓的欧洲“无人机墙”的基础，以阻止俄罗斯进一步的空中威胁。

据彭博社10月10日报道，这项合作可能会使月产量达到约2000台。

“通过‘章鱼计划’，我们的乌克兰朋友将与英国分享技术和知识产权——作为回报，我们将进一步开发并大规模生产，每月向乌克兰提供数千架拦截无人机，”希利此前解释说。

今年9月，乌克兰私营无人机制造商Ukrspecsystems宣布，将在英国米尔登霍尔投资超过2.67亿美元兴建一座新工厂。

据称，该拦截器是在乌克兰在英国技术人员和工作人员的支持下研制的，但其成本不到其目标系统的 10%。

英国正加倍投入无人机技术建设。希利宣布成立新的英国无人机中心，并表示对无人机和其他自主系统的投资将翻一番，总额超过40亿英镑（50亿美元）。英国承诺从今年开始，将设备预算的10%用于新技术研发。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。