IRIA News

The United Kingdom unveiled a new drone strategy that aims to invest £4.5 billion ($5.7 billion) over the next decade to support the development and deployment of uncrewed systems for all three military services of the UK.

The UK Ministry of Defense has recently released its new Defense Drone Strategy, aiming to achieve “world-leading” status in unmanned defense systems. According to the official document released on February 22, 2024, the initiative is influenced by insights gained from the conflict in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian war has served as a valuable source of lessons for the Western world. Several European countries have completely overhauled their defense strategy based on the lessons learned from the Russia-Ukraine war. The ongoing war has particularly underlined the importance of having a strong and functional strategy in drone warfare, revealing potential shifts in the dynamic between humans and technology.

Earlier this month, the United Kingdom pledged to provide Kyiv with thousands of First-Person View drones, in a $253 million weapons package. This initiative is part of a broader collaborative effort within a European coalition aimed at transferring one million unmanned systems.

“Having delivered thousands of logistic, surveillance, strike, and maritime drones to Ukraine, the strategy sets out how Defense will learn from this important partnership for the operational capabilities of the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, and British Army, integrated by Strategic Command,” the British Ministry of Defense stated in a press release highlighting the role that Ukraine war has played in developing the new Defense Drone Strategy.

Malloy Aeronautics welcomed the announcement of the new strategy and emphasized that it would help experts to further build on the UK’s internationally renowned leadership in drone technology and “increase the pace at which we can identify opportunities and collaborate to deliver new capabilities across all domains”. British defense firm BAE Systems recently acquired Malloy Aeronautics.

The company is set to invest in uncrewed systems across air, land, and sea domains and termed the new drone strategy an important step for the future. “The UK Defence Drone Strategy will create a unified approach across all three military services and industry to enable the rapid experimentation, testing, evaluation, and procurement of uncrewed platforms,” BAE Systems said in a statement.

The Commander of UK Strategic Command, General Jim Hockenhull said, “This strategy, backed by significant investment, offers the opportunity to transform our approach to the acquisition, integration, and exploitation of uncrewed systems.”

He further highlighted that “Integrating advanced uncrewed systems into our suite of capabilities will protect the force, deter our adversaries, and, when necessary, help us to fight and win.”

UK’s Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), the procurement agency of the Ministry of Defense has played a vital role in developing the new strategy and is set to be pivotal in ensuring the successful delivery of systems.

The objective of Defense Drone Strategy

The UK plans to spend an additional $5.7 billion over the next decade to develop and integrate military drones into its overall defense strategy, pledging to “rapidly” equip it armed forces with advanced air, land, and sea-based uncrewed systems in the process.

The plan outlines four primary goals:

• Accelerate acquisition reform
• Establishing a robust industrial base
• Specify digital architectures for seamless integration
• Cultivate a culture of innovation

The 11-page document further elaborates each of the objectives by providing a detailed outline. For making acquisition reforms, the UK plans to start projects to ensure fast-paced procurement, rapid delivery, and iterative capability development. “We will expedite the adoption of a more adaptable and agile acquisition process,” the document said.

The document references an older plan, The Defense Command Paper 2023, to underline the importance of an industrial base as an essential component of national security. The Defense Ministry plans to expand its weapons industrial base by “Focusing on onshore design and production, reducing barriers for small- and medium-sized enterprises, and exploring opportunities to scale civil and military platforms or components both to enhance our operational capability and enable exports, working with key departments across Government,” it said.

The new approach would enable rapid deployment of unmanned systems with the British Armed Forces, providing essential intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance, strike, and logistical capabilities. This eliminates the need for prolonged development timelines and extensive requirement discussions. Once in operation, these systems can be continually developed and upgraded, or ‘spiraled,’ to adapt to the swiftly evolving landscape of technology and changing threats.

In an introduction to the Defense Drone Strategy, UK Minister for Defense Procurement James Cartlidge stated, “Our approach to uncrewed systems will drive a more deliberate and coherent partnership with our industrial base, ensuring vital onshore resilience and component stockpiles.”

“In close partnership with industry, we will spirally and collaboratively develop platforms and components to keep up with relentless cycles of battlefield adaptation, whilst driving sovereign industrial strength, and the export opportunities necessary to reinforce such resilience,” Cartlidge added.

The defense minister highlighted that “We will also work across Government to foster a pro-innovation regulatory environment, delivering the ability for uncrewed military platforms to be tested as effectively as possible on UK sites, and within our sovereign airspace.”

Integrating modern technologies in defense strategy

The integration of modern technology in defense strategy represents a paramount shift in the dynamics of national security. In an era dominated by rapid technological advancements, nations are compelled to embrace cutting-edge innovations to safeguard their interests. Incorporating state-of-the-art technologies such as artificial intelligence, cyber defenses, and autonomous systems into defense strategies has become an essential tool to enhance the agility, precision, and efficiency of military operations.

Apart from enhancing its drone production capabilities, the UK is also working closely with its partners and allies to develop and integrate modern technologies into its existing defense models. The most prominent example is the AUKUS defense pact, which not only focuses on bolstering the existing defense infrastructure for the United States, UK, and Australia but also works on developing new technologies in integrating them into the ongoing defense strategy.

AUKUS’s Advanced Capabilities Pillar is solely focused on this aspect and it has made substantial progress in the last few months. One of the most promising projects in this regard focuses on developing autonomous drones for aerial, naval, as well as, conventional military purposes.