A total of 30,000 drones will be sent to Ukraine following £45 million worth of contracts placed by the international Drone Capability Coalition, co-led by the UK and Latvia, as the UK intensifies its leadership role in supporting Ukraine in 2025, News.az reports citing the UK government’s website.
Defence Secretary John Healey announced this milestone alongside Latvian Defence Minister Andris Sprūds at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group held at Ramstein Air Base today [Thursday 9 January].
Healey arrived last night for talks with the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the US Air Base.
The Drone Capability Coalition supports Ukraine with uncrewed surveillance and attack capabilities. Funding for the new 30,000 drones comes from UK, Denmark, Netherlands, Latvia and Sweden.
These state-of-the-art, first-person view drones will help Ukraine fight against Russian aggression, allowing Ukraine’s Armed Forces to manoeuvre past Russian air defences to target enemy positions and armoured vehicles.
Today’s announcement follows the UK’s £7.5 million investment for the Drone Capability Coalition’s Common Fund, set out in November, and brings the UK’s total investment in the fund to £15 million to date. So far, the fund has raised around £73 million from the UK and partners.
As well as this, the Defence Secretary confirmed that the UK-administered International Fund for Ukraine now stands at over £1.3 billion, of which the UK has contributed £500 million.
He also outlined the Ministry of Defence’s plan for Ukraine’s Defence in 2025 to more than 50 allies and partners gathered for the meeting. John Healey discussed the plan with Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov in Kyiv in December.