Drone factory for Ukrainian army opens

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

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

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

Rory Chamberlain, Ukrspecsystems' managing director in the UK, told the BBC that supplying soldiers with modern weaponry was of the "highest importance" because Ukraine was as "vulnerable" as ever to attack.

"The war has changed but this keeps soldiers safe and it keeps the nation fighting," he added.

"There is your chessboard and another piece has been added - another player has been added to the board that can do different things and that's drones in modern warfare.

"It's changed how they have to defend themselves and it's changed how they attack as well."

Ukrspecsystems, described as the biggest drone manufacturing company in Ukraine, said it manufactured eight types of drone "that are used extensively in Ukraine" following the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022.

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

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

Col Andy Boardman is the commander of Operation Interflex, a military collaboration between British Armed Forces and Ukraine which started in 2022.

He has helped train new recruits for the battlefield - the make-up of which, he said, was evolving all the time and becoming more technological than ever.

"Not only must we make sure we're delivering up-to-date tactics, but [we must] also integrate some of the new technologies," he told the BBC.

"When we started, we were doing basic soldier skills like shooting, moving around, patrolling, and first aid.

"We're now integrating unmanned aerial systems in all aspects of our training too."

The official opening of the new drone factory was attended by Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, Gen Valerii Zaluzhnyi, and the UK's Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard MP.

Pollard said the new site solidified a deepening cooperation between the two nations' defence industries and would strengthen Ukraine's ability to fight Russia.

"We've been supporting Ukraine with training of military personnel for quite a few years now, but for Ukraine to stay in the fight having more assured and resilient industrial production is essential," he said.

"That's what this factory provides, so it is a really important step in the UK-Ukraine partnership, making sure we can keep Ukraine in the fight for longer as we get towards what I hope will be peace."

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