In what constitutes a new boost to drone production aimed at equipping the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a new factory operated by Ukrspecsystems has been inaugurated in the United Kingdom, located in the East Anglia region in eastern England. According to the British government, this milestone was achieved following a significant £200 million investment by the company, enabling the creation of up to 500 new jobs at the facility and the integration of various British industrial actors into the supply chain.
Referring to the development, the current Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, Luke Pollard, stated: “Our determination to support Ukraine is stronger than ever, and we stand with the courageous Armed Forces of Ukraine in their fight for peace. The new Ukrspecsystems factory is a vote of confidence in the UK’s support and underscores the growing cooperation between our defense industries. This investment will create up to 500 new jobs in the east of England, boost defense as an engine for growth, and help Ukraine defend itself against Putin’s aggression.”
For his part, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, noted: “This factory represents more than just industrial cooperation — it is part of a new European security architecture based on shared responsibility and production. Ukraine brings battlefield experience and innovation, and together with the United Kingdom we are strengthening the capabilities needed to deter aggression. The UK’s Defence Industrial Strategy is enabling defense companies to operate in the country, driving economic growth and supporting government assistance to Ukraine, in line with the Strategic Defence Review.”
Expanding on the details known so far, the new production plant has already received an initial order to activate its capabilities immediately, namely 80 SHARK and Mini-SHARK drones, which will subsequently be sent to Kyiv. For the time being, London has not specified which variant of the SHARK system will be produced, as both the SHARK-D and SHARK-M models exist, differing primarily in the greater endurance and payload capacity of the latter, which can remain airborne for up to seven hours and take off at a maximum weight of 14.5 kilograms. According to the manufacturer, its primary function is to provide autonomous reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities to support combat operations.
Regarding the Mini-SHARK unmanned systems, these are considerably more compact and designed as a portable alternative for infantry units. The system offers an endurance of approximately two hours and a maximum takeoff weight of around 5.5 kilograms. From a technical standpoint, it features a wingspan of 2.6 meters compared to the 3.4 meters of the SHARK-M, and a signal range of about 35 kilometers — a fraction of the 180-kilometer range associated with the larger models. Another key difference lies in the deployment method: the Mini-SHARK is manually launched, whereas the SHARK-M uses a catapult system.
Beyond technical characteristics, the British Ministry of Defence has stated that drones manufactured by Ukrspecsystems have contributed to inflicting up to $3 billion in damage on the Russian Armed Forces, operating both as reconnaissance systems and as nodes to coordinate strikes carried out by other unmanned platforms.
Finally, it should be noted that the inauguration of this new factory on British soil is not the only recent sign of London’s support for Kyiv, now framed within the agreement known as the “100-Year Partnership,” which aims to foster closer industrial ties between the two countries. In this context, the United Kingdom has highlighted the start of production of new Octopus interceptor drones, described as particularly effective against the Shahed drones used by Russian forces in Ukraine, and the opening of a new business office in Kyiv to facilitate industrial cooperation between the two nations.
Image credits: @ZaluzhnyiUA on X.
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