DSEI 2025 – The UK to manufacture Ukraine drones under Project Octopus
The joint project, to be announced at the DSEI 2025 was for an advanced new air defence interceptor drone, named Project Octopus, which will be mass produced in the UK, with a target to produce thousands per month to provide to Ukraine to support against Russia’s invasion
The drone developed under Project Octopus, was designed by Ukraine’s largest drone manufacturer, Ukrspecsystems with support from UK scientists and technicians and has already proved successful on the battlefield, proving highly effective against the Shahed one-way attack drone variants used by Russia despite costing less than 10% to produce than the drones they are designed to intercept.
The drones which will be used by the Ukrainian military are due to be built as part of a £ 200 million investment by the British government. A new company has been formed, Ukrspecsystems UK managed by Rory Chamberlain; it will build an 11,000 m² factory in Mildenhall in eastern England, along with a testing and training facility established at Elmsett Airfield about 70 km away near Ipswich, creating hundreds of jobs and apprenticeships.
Ukrspecsystems produces a range of drones including the PD-2 which has a 10-hour endurance carrying a 45 kg payload, and which can be converted from fixed-wing to vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) configuration in a matter of minutes. In February 2025, Ukrspecsystems unveiled its Shark-M, capable of deep reconnaissance and serving as a signal repeater for strike drones. It has up to seven hours of flight time due to batteries with a 170 percent greater capacity than those used in the earlier Shark-D drone. It can operate day and night, and has a high electronic warfare (EW) resistance. It was displayed at DSEI 2025 in markings of a WW2 RAF fighter aircraft.
The UK defence minister, John Healey said, “This deal is a first of its kind, giving UK industry unprecedented access to the latest equipment designs, supporting Ukraine in its fight to defend against Putin’s illegal invasion and showing how defence can be an engine for growth as we deliver on our Plan for Change.”
Photos courtesy Ukrspecsystems and D. Oliver
