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Town's heritage and location attracts drone firms

Will Glennon,in Swindonand
Sophie Parker,Wiltshire
News imageBBC Mike Armstrong - managing director of drone company Stark - looks at the camera, arms folded, wearing blue shirt and dark blue branded gilet. Next to him is a model of a drone and the Stark logo on a board with a drone shot of a coastal area.BBC
Mike Armstrong from Stark said Swindon's engineering past is helpful

With war happening within Europe and technology advancing, there is pressure to produce new equipment, and one of the most talked-about things is drones.

Drone companies are expanding, and one of the places they are coming to in the UK is Swindon - but why?

Stark, Tekever, DSEI Flyby, and Munin Dynamics have all chosen the town as a location.

Stark's managing director, Mike Armstrong, said the town "is the number one place right now in Britain for a defence contractor to set up shop".

News imageWill Stone looks to a camera slightly to the side - he is wearing glasses, a grey suit jacket with a jumper, a tie and a stripy shirt. Behind him is an empty stage, set up as if for people sitting to talk to an audience.
MP Will Stone explained he has been encouraging defence companies to come to Swindon

MP for Swindon North Will Stone has called the town an "easy sell".

The MP - who used to be in the military himself - said he has met with more than 100 defence companies since being elected, and wants to make the town the "drone manufacturing hub of the UK".

He said that not only is the town in a "very good strategic location", it also has cheap employment land and a good workforce.

Swindon sits on a trainline to London and has the M4 too, it also has industrial space and lots of skilled people since car manufacturer Honda closed its site in the town a few years ago.

The town's history in industry, stretching back to the railways, has also helped.

"We have an industrial capacity that's been unmatched. We're gritty working people," Mr Stone said.

"We need to make sure soldiers have the best possible kit and equipment."

News imageAndrew Matthews/PA Wire Alistair Carn standing on a stage giving a speech in a suit and tie. He has a model of a drone next to himAndrew Matthews/PA Wire
Minister of Armed Forces Alistair Carns has been to visit the Stark site in Swindon

Mr Armstrong said he is expecting to bring hundreds of jobs to the town.

His company has already started the first product build at its new Swindon base.

For Mr Armstrong, Swindon being well-connected and already having "really deep industrial engineering talent" makes it ideal.

It is also close to a lot of the armed forces, such as the huge Salisbury Plain training area.

"I've absolutely no doubt that Swindon is the number one place right now in Britain for a defence contractor to set up shop," he said.

"Our mission is a national mission: to rearm Britain, to deter the next conflict in Europe, to avoid that from happening."

News imageJaimi Joy/PA Wire A shot taken from inside a building behind a drone, which looks like a miniature grey aeroplane. Three men speak behind it, with the large glass panels of the building behind them.Jaimi Joy/PA Wire
Drone company Tekever has also decided to open a site in Swindon

Alistair Carns, the Minister for Armed Forces, told the BBC that Swindon has a "great ecosystem" but also that "increasing defence spending is critical".

He said that 1 in 60 jobs are linked to defence across the country and that it is important as the "character of conflict is changing".

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