The first Ukrainian drone production factory started operations in Suffolk on Wednesday, in a boost for Britain’s defence industry.
Ukrainian firm, Ukrspecsystems, has invested £200m into sites in Mildenhall and Elmsett, and is expected to create up to 500 British jobs at the locations and the wider UK supply chain.
Luke Pollard, minister for defence readiness and industry, said: “Ukrspecsystems’ new factory is a vote of confidence in UK support and underlines the deepening cooperation between our nations’ defence industries.
“This investment will create up to 500 new jobs in the East of England, drive defence as an engine for growth, and help Ukraine defend itself against Putin’s aggression.”
The UK has previously ordered over 80 SHARK and Mini-SHARK drones from Ukrspecystems’ factories in Ukraine, and hailed the plant opening as a “clear demonstration” of the 100 Year Partnership between the two countries.
The firm, founded in 2014, produces a variety of drones, which have caused almost $3bn (£2.6b) in damage to Vladimir Putin’s war machine since February 2022, according to the British ministry of defence.
Valerit Zaluzhnyi, the Ukrainian ambassador to Britain, said on Wednesday that the plant represented an expansion of cooperation between the two countries.
“Ukraine is fighting a war amid constant missile strikes, infrastructure destruction and threats to production facilities. Therefore, the launch of production in the UK has a deep strategic logic,” he said on social media.
“This is not a shift of the centre of gravity away from Ukraine. It is an expansion of our joint capabilities and the creation of a second line of defence that guarantees continuity of production.”
Mr Zaluzhnyi said the centre of engineering expertise would remain in Ukraine while production would be integrated into Britain’s defence industry.
Ukraine’s defence industry has grown fast during the four years of the war with Russia. Its production capacity is estimated at $50–55b (£43.6-£47b) this year, meeting more than 50 per cent of the Ukrainian army’s needs.
Kyiv is also now preparing to resume exporting materiel and services for the first time in four years.
Davyd Aloian, deputy secretary of Kyiv’s National Security and Defence Council, said last week that the country could export several billion dollars worth of goods and services in 2026, with a “significantly higher” potential than pre-war exports allowed.
Ukrspecsystems says on its website that it is working in the UK as part of the 1Force consortium, jointly with British Eagle Eye Innovations Ltd and Digital Concepts Engineering Ltd.
