Drone factory for Ukrainian army opens

A factory that will make drones for Ukrainian soldiers has opened in a Suffolk town.

Ukrspecsystems has redeveloped a building in Mildenhall to produce the unmanned aircraft as part of a £200m investment.

When fully operational, it will be capable of manufacturing up to 1,000 drones per month, the company said.

Rory Chamberlain, managing director of Ukrspecsystems in the UK, told the BBC that providing soldiers with modern weapons was of “utmost importance” as Ukraine was more “vulnerable” to attack than ever.

“Warfare has changed, but this keeps soldiers safe and allows the nation to continue fighting,” he added.

“Here’s your chessboard and another piece has been added – another player has been added to the chessboard who can do different things and that’s drones in modern warfare.

“It’s changed the way they have to defend and it’s also changed the way they attack.”

Ukrspecsystems, described as Ukraine’s largest drone manufacturing company, said it had manufactured eight types of drones “which are widely used in Ukraine” following Russia’s large-scale invasion in 2022.

According to Chamberlain, the plant will create hundreds of jobs.

It is also close to Elmsett Airfield, near Ipswich, which will be used to train drone pilots and test the machines before they are deployed to soldiers on the front line.

Colonel Andy Boardman is the commander of Operation Interflex, a military collaboration between the British armed forces and Ukraine which began in 2022.

He helped train new recruits for the battlefield – whose composition, he said, was constantly evolving and becoming more technological than ever.

“Not only do we need to ensure we provide up-to-date tactics, but [we must] also incorporate some of the new technologies,” he told the BBC.

“When we started, we mastered basic soldier skills like shooting, moving, patrolling and rescuing.

“We are now also integrating unmanned aerial systems into all aspects of our training.”

The official opening of the new drone factory took place in the presence of the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, and the British Minister for Preparedness and Defense Industry, Luke Pollard MP.

Pollard said the new facility consolidated deep cooperation between the two countries’ defense industries and would strengthen Ukraine’s ability to fight Russia.

“We have been supporting Ukraine by training military personnel for several years now, but for Ukraine to stay in the fight, it is essential that it has more assured and resilient industrial production,” he said.

“That’s what this factory delivers, so it’s a really important step in the UK-Ukraine partnership, ensuring that we can keep Ukraine in the fight for longer as we move towards what I hope will be peace.”

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