Britain invests £5 bln in drones, creating new unit based on Ukraine's experience
Britain is creating a new structure modeled on Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, which became a separate branch of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The British task force is not expected to become a separate branch of the military. It will include service members from:
Under the DIP program, the new unit's main task will be to "bring together people, data, and machines to solve real operational tasks quickly, at scale and cost-effectively."
A defense source said that"many of the decisions in the DIP were undoubtedly based on lessons learned from how Ukraine is fighting against the Russians."
At the same time, it remains unclear how much of the 298 billion British pounds in the four-year investment plan will go toward creating the new task force and when it will begin operating.
According to the report, Ukraine uses about 200,000 drones a month to defend itself against Russian attacks. By contrast, Britain's arsenal includes about 10,000 drones, which, the report notes, could last only a few days in the event of a large-scale conflict.
The DIP program also provides for further expansion of the British Army's unmanned capabilities. By 2030, army units equipped with Apache attack helicopters will receive 24 armed drones that will operate alongside combat helicopters.
In addition, infantry units will receive new FPV strike drones thanks to an additional 50 million British pounds in funding. Part of the money will also go toward developing unmanned ground platforms capable of delivering supplies to troops or carrying out combat missions alongside them.
Separately, the DIP program allocates more than 8.6 billion British pounds to the Royal Air Force (RAF) to develop the new Tempest fighter jet.
A spokesperson for the UK Ministry of Defense said:
The Uncrewed Systems Task Force will develop long-range reconnaissance and strike capabilities that will help British forces detect, track, and destroy targets at long distances, while also strengthening protection against enemy drones."
Background
As reported earlier, the UK government plans to invest more than 500 million British pounds in a program to modernize elite military units. In particular, the new high-speed landing craft are expected to be used for security operations, including the seizure of tankers belonging to Russia's shadow fleet.
It was also reported that by the end of the year, Britain will provide Ukraine with 150,000 unmanned aerial vehicles worth nearly 1 billion US dollars in total.
It should be noted that last year, Ukraine created a grouping of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It brought together all military units of the Unmanned Systems Forces and the "Drone Line." The goal is to improve management efficiency.
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6 of July 2026
