United Kingdom to Supply Over 10,000 Drones to Ukraine
On March 7th, during his third visit to Kyiv, British Defense Minister Grant Shapps announced his country's intention to allocate £325 million for the procurement of over 10,000 drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This was announced during a meeting between Shapps and the Chief of the General Staff of the British Armed Forces, Admiral Tony Radakin, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Defence Minister Rustem Umeyrov, as reported by the official website of the United Kingdom government.
Among the drones to be supplied to Ukraine at the expense of Great Britain will be FPV drones, 1000 combat UAVs, as well as reconnaissance and maritime drones.
The British government's statement also notes that the investments allowing for the supply of over 10,000 drones to the Armed Forces of Ukraine will involve leading defense enterprises of Great Britain to provide Ukraine with new advanced drone technologies throughout 2024.
"I reinforce our commitment to arm Ukraine with the most advanced new drones coming directly from leading British defence enterprises - from factory floors to the front lines. I call on international partners to join the UK in these efforts," said Grant Shapps.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine utilize various types of drones with high efficiency - they have destroyed and damaged thousands of units of Russian equipment and vehicles. Highly manoeuvrable FPV drones, which allow the operator to precisely control the drone's movements in real-time mode, are successfully used to bypass Russian air defence systems to hit their targets. Grant Shapps also noted that the weaponry provided by Great Britain helped Ukraine successfully attack ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
"The Armed Forces of Ukraine are using the weaponry provided by Great Britain with unprecedented efficiency to help destroy almost 30% of the Russian Black Sea Fleet," said the Defence Minister of the United Kingdom.
It is worth noting that Great Britain, together with Latvia, are the main participants in the international "drone coalition" formed within the framework of the Contact Group on Defence of Ukraine, known as the "Ramstein format."