Ukraine and UK to produce interceptor drones to counter Russian Shaheds
Photo: British Minister of Defense Luke Pollard (Getty Images)
Ukraine and the UK have planned joint production of interceptor drones to combat the swarms of Shahed drones that Russia uses for daily attacks, according to Bloomberg.
Octopus project
The project, called Octopus, is currently under negotiation and could be implemented in the coming months, according to the UK's Minister of State for Defense Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard.
"Very shortly we’ll be producing around 2,000 drones a month, deliberately shipping all of them to Ukraine so they can be used to intercept Russian drones," Pollard said.
The production of interceptor drones will initially be located in the UK and organized flexibly enough to respond to changing needs on the battlefield.
"UK is outstanding at R&D and advanced manufacture, so we can add something that our Ukrainian friends don’t have in this respect," the British official said.
UK plans other defense projects with Ukraine
According to the UK's Minister of State for Defense Readiness and Industry, the United Kingdom is also planning other projects with Ukraine, including the production of bombs.
"We’re starting with drones for obvious reasons. But in general, Ukraine is an essential partner for us in terms of creating the technologies we need to deter Russia and to re-arm Europe," he said.
Bloomberg recalls that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently called on partners to help finance weapons production or to set up joint ventures and make direct purchases for the Ukrainian army.
Recently, Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal promised to provide 1,000 interceptor drones per day to counter Russian attacks.
At the same time, the UK announced that it would strengthen its air defense systems by signing a large contract for the supply of missile systems.
