Deployment of airborne systems will be supported by tens of millions of pounds of contracts intended to help provide country with technology to fulfil a ‘crucial role on the battlefield’
The UK government will send 30,000 drones to Ukraine to help fight against Russian aggression.
The “state-of-the-art, first-person view drones” will allow Ukraine’s Armed Forces to move past Russian air defences and “target enemy positions and armoured vehicles”, the government said. The delivery of the airborne systems will be supported by £45m worth of contracts agreed by the International Drone Capability Coalition, which is co-led by the UK and Latvia.
Established early last year, the coalition provides Ukraine with the technology, which is “indispensable” and plays “a crucial role on the battlefield”, according to the Ministry of Defence. Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden are also part of the coalition.
Defence secretary John Healey announced the drone deployment alongside Latvian defence minister Andris Sprūds at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting in Germany last week.
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Healey said: “The fierce courage of the Ukrainian people continues to inspire the world, and this meeting of more than 50 nations sends a clear message to Putin about the international community’s unwavering support for Ukraine. I am proud of the UK’s leadership in supporting Ukraine. From heading coalitions which are delivering essential equipment alongside allies, to training recruits, we’re standing strong with Ukraine against Putin’s aggression.”
The news comes as US president-elect Donald Trump suggested that he wishes to arrange a meeting with the Russian president.
Speaking to journalists at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump said: “President Putin wants to meet. He has said that even publicly and we have to get that war over with. That’s a bloody mess.”

A version of this story originally appeared on PublicTechnology sister publication Holyrood