UK, Ukraine sign agreement on exchange of technologies in production of UAVs
The United Kingdom will produce and jointly develop the most advanced military equipment with Ukrainian industry under a groundbreaking agreement on the exchange of the latest technologies, which will contribute to the creation of jobs in the United Kingdom and the strengthening of the national security of both the UK and Ukraine, the UK Ministry of Defence reported.
"Through this groundbreaking industrial partnership with Ukraine, and our new Defence Industrial Strategy, we are revving up our world-leading defence industry. We will innovate at a wartime pace, support UK and Ukrainian security, and boost jobs here in Britain," the country's Defence Secretary, John Healy, is quoted as saying in a statement on the UK government website.
The first joint project is reportedly a new advanced air defence interceptor drone called Project OCTOPUS, which will be mass-produced in the UK with the aim of producing thousands of units per month for delivery to Ukraine. The project will be unveiled on Thursday at the DSEI International Arms Exhibition and Fair in London.
"The drone developed under Project OCTOPUS was designed by Ukraine with support from UK scientists and technicians and has already proved successful on the battlefield, proving highly effective against the Shahed one-way attack drone variants used by Russia – despite costing less than 10% to produce than the drones they are designed to intercept," the report notes.