First Ukrainian drone factory begins operations in UK

The first Ukrainian defense factory is now starting operations in the United Kingdom – a production complex of Ukrspecsystems, whose drones have already proven effective in high-tech warfare.

This was announced on Telegram by Ukraine’s Ambassador to the UK, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, as reported by Ukrinform.

The diplomat emphasized that Ukraine is fighting under constant missile strikes, infrastructure damage, and threats to production facilities, so launching production in the UK has deep strategic logic.

“This is not about moving our center of gravity from Ukraine. It is about expanding our joint capabilities and creating a second resilience layer to guarantee uninterrupted production. We are keeping the engineering expertise in Ukraine while integrating manufacturing into the UK defense space,” the Ambassador wrote.

He described this approach as a new level of partnership, where allies not only support each other but also build a shared industrial security base.

As reported by Ukrinform, Ukraine and the UK have launched the OCTOPUS project to produce interceptor drones, which will be serially manufactured in the UK. Thousands of drones are expected to be produced each month for delivery to Ukraine.

The Project OCTOPUS drone was developed in Ukraine with support from British scientists and technicians. It has already proven highly effective on the battlefield, particularly against Shahed-type drones.

Interceptor drones are significantly cheaper than conventional air-defense missiles and have demonstrated high effectiveness against waves of kamikaze drones Russia is deploying on Ukrainian cities. They quickly intercept and destroy drones and missiles before they reach their targets.