UK procures thousands of UAVs

The UK is investing over GBP100 million in Autonomous Collaborative Platforms that will operate together with Apache attack helicopters (pictured). (Janes/Patrick Allen)

UK Secretary of State for Defence John Healey announced in an address to the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Land Warfare Conference held in London on 17 and 18 June that the United Kingdom would invest over GBP100 million (USD134 million) in initial funding to develop land unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms as deliveries of thousands of strike UAVs begin. He said, “Autonomous Collaborative Platforms will fly alongside the Apache attack helicopters and enhance the army's ability to strike, survive, and win on the battlefield,” which he called “a game changer [that] will be applying the lessons from Ukraine in a world-leading way … putting the UK at the leading edge of innovation in NATO”.

He added, “Alongside our ability to move forward with greater combat mass, we're investing in AI [artificial intelligence] and drones to strike further and faster through Project Asgard. In well under a year, we've developed and procured these recce-strike systems that allow our soldiers to connect the sensor to the shooter in record-beating time.” He said these systems have already been tested and partly deployed in Estonia, with plans to use them in NATO's Exercise ‘Steadfast Defender' in 2027.

Healey expected the lessons from Asgard to inform the UK's new integrated Digital Targeting Web, as recommended by the 2 June Strategic Defence Review (SDR) be developed over the next two years, so he committed to support it with GBP1 billion of new investment.