Defence chiefs have signed off a massive new killer drone deal for the Ukraine frontline to help Volodymyr Zelensky’s troops fight back the Kremlin advance
Britain has signed the biggest-ever drone package for Ukraine to help push back Vladimir Putin’s troops in time for the summer fighting season.
It means a staggering 120,000 drones, including those for over-land surveillance, maritime strike operations and intelligence gathering will be sent to Ukraine.
Russia has often been losing at least 1,000 troops-a -day in brutal frontline fighting and this year for the first time the Kremlin has not been able to keep up with recruitment. It means that for every soldier killed or injured in fighting, often by drone strike, the Kremlin has not always been able to replace him with battle reinforcements.
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At the same time it marks a significant investment fortune being spent on British companies, boosting growth and helping increase defence jobs in the UK. The announcement comes as the Defence Secretary John Healey co-chairs a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Berlin.
The MoD said: “The new package, the largest of its kind ever supplied by the UK, will include thousands of long-range strike drones, intelligence and reconnaissance drones, logistics drones and maritime capabilities, which are all battle-proven on Ukraine’s frontline. Deliveries of these new drones to Ukraine have already started this month.’
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‘Drones are proving critical to both Ukrainian counterattacks across the frontline over the past months, as well as their defence against continued Russian attacks. Approximately 6,500 one-way attack drones were launched by Russia against Ukraine in March 2026, a significant increase on February’s total.”
Healey travelled to Berlin to help head the 34th meeting of the 50-nation strong Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Berlin, alongside German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, Ukrainian Minister of Defence Mykhailo Fedorov, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Most of the investment will be spent with UK-based companies, including Tekever, Windracers and Malloy Aeronautics – creating new UK jobs whilst defending Ukraine’s security and sovereignty.
The British drone sector is rapidly advancing, and supports both UK security and wider European deterrence, while driving skills and innovation in every region of the UK. Defence Secretary John Healey MP said:
“In the fifth year of Putin’s brutal war, the UK is stepping up further and providing the highest ever number of drones for Ukraine this year. This big boost of battle-proven drones will give Ukrainian forces the capability they need to defend their people and fight back against Russian aggression.’
“With eyes on the Middle East in recent weeks, Putin wants us to be distracted, but Ukrainians continue to fight with huge courage and nothing will distract us from continuing to stand with them for as long as it takes to secure peace.’ The new drone package is backed by the UK’s wider £3 billion military support for Ukraine this year, as well as ERA funding.
The Defence Secretary will also confirm that the UK will be providing hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds and thousands of air defence missiles for Ukraine this year.
