UK to Build ‘Drone Wall’ with Ukraine to Shield Europe from Russian Threat
The United Kingdom is preparing to deploy a new line of domestically produced drones to form a so-called “drone wall” designed to bolster NATO’s defenses against Russia.
The Gaze reports this, referring to a statement made by UK Defence Secretary John Healey in his interview with The Telegraph.
The plan, unveiled on Friday during talks among European defense ministers, envisions positioning large numbers of drones along the Alliance’s eastern flank to intercept Russian drones and missiles.
Healey said Moscow’s “reckless and dangerous maneuvers” would no longer go unanswered, stressing that NATO is ready to strengthen border protection measures.
As part of the strategy, Britain and Ukraine have jointly launched Project OCTOPUS, a program that will see British factories begin producing interceptor drones within weeks.
Healey highlighted that the systems will be manufactured using advanced production methods “available to us, but absent from them,” enabling the UK to supply Ukraine with thousands of low-cost drones.
A landmark agreement between London and Kyiv grants joint ownership of the intellectual property, paving the way for deployment of the drones across NATO countries.
Healey said the interceptors have already proven effective against Iranian-made Shahed drones and cost less than a tenth of comparable systems on the market.
In addition to supporting Ukraine, the UK also intends to integrate the drones into its own air defense to protect military installations and critical infrastructure.
“We’re ready with allies through NATO to demonstrate to Putin that his aggression and his incursions, reckless or intentional, will be challenged,” Healey said.
As The Gaze previously reported, the United Kingdom has announced plans to manufacture thousands of advanced interceptor drones for Ukraine each month as part of a landmark defense technology-sharing agreement with Kyiv.