Race to Build Drones for Britain as New Era of Warfare Unfolds in Ukraine and Beyond

In the rolling fields of Hampshire, the landscape of modern conflict is quietly being transformed. Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, now equipped with an uncrewed aerial systems platoon, are instructing army infantry not just in flying drones but in the full operational spectrum, from reconnaissance to executing precision strikes with so-called suicide drones.

This practical training is one facet of Britain’s multi-billion pound drive to ensure the armed forces are primed for a world where unmanned and autonomous equipment shouldered by drones is fast eclipsing the role of traditional manned systems. As highlighted by Defence Secretary John Healey, the technology behind drones is altering the calculus of war; more lives are now lost to unmanned vehicles in Ukraine than through artillery. The imperative is clear: whomever deploys disruptive technology most rapidly will shape the next victory.

At the Defence and Security Equipment International exhibition in London, the flourishing UK drone sector makes a compelling display. This emerging market, energised by disrupters and innovators, is anything but uniform. Heavy lift logistics drones, advanced maritime solutions, and highly specialised surveillance UAVs now jostle for government attention alongside niche “one way effectors” built for kinetic operations. Names such as Hydra Drones, Tekever, Anduril and Modini illustrate the diversity and ambition now fuelling the British drone domain.

Debate persists within defence circles as to whether drone warfare will become the norm for British strategy. The Ukraine-Russia conflict, with its unique conditions, offers crucial lessons. Both sides scrambled to adapt, and Ukrainian technologists, in particular, rose to meet the challenge left by outdated air forces. Yet traditional UK strategy is designed for air supremacy with platforms like the F-35 and Typhoon, not for swarms of uncrewed systems. The rise of drones also presents an industrial dilemma: can British manufacturing scale to the required levels, or will innovation founder against bureaucratic inertia?

New thinking suggests a break from established procurement models dominated by large defence contractors. Challenger firms, many spun out from the automotive and energy sectors, now bring industrial expertise and nimbleness once thought impossible in military manufacturing. The burgeoning ecosystem must also co-ordinate with advances in satellite technology, as modern drones rely on real-time connectivity for both operational autonomy and effectiveness on the battlefield.

The Raybird drone, developed by Ukraine’s Skyeton and now the subject of a manufacturing joint venture in Plymouth, typifies the possibilities. Having proven itself in over eighty operational missions, Raybird is being trialled for both reconnaissance and munition carriage and could soon see British production should contracts be secured. With the majority of its crucial components already sourced in the UK, Raybird offers a blueprint for agile adaptation — and a path for Britain to remain at the leading edge in the new era of military technology.

As the landscape shifts beneath the boots of soldiers and the hands of engineers, Britain must decide whether to seize the industrial and strategic opportunities unleashed by the drone revolution, or risk being left behind as war takes to the skies anew.