Ukraine, UK negotiating joint production of 2,000 interceptor drones per month
Ukraine and the United Kingdom are negotiating a joint project to produce interceptor drones, which could reach 2,000 units per month once operational.
The initiative, named Project Octopus, addresses Ukraine's urgent need for affordable air defense amid a surge in Russian drone attacks, with over 6,900 Shahed-type drones launched by Moscow in September alone, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
“Very shortly, we'll be producing around 2,000 drones a month, deliberately shipping all of them to Ukraine so they can be used to intercept Russian drones,” said UK Defense Readiness and Industry Minister Luke Pollard.
Production will initially take place in the U.K., leveraging British expertise in research, development, and advanced manufacturing. Pollard emphasized the need for speed: “We need to be fast and we need to be first.”
The countries signed an agreement on Sept. 11 to move forward with the project. Ukraine’s Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said Kyiv aims to deploy at least 1,000 interceptor drones daily in the near future to counter Russian attacks.
The drones are critical for defending against Shahed-type attack drones, originally designed in Iran and produced in Russia as Geran-2, which have become a key component of Moscow’s aerial strikes.
Since 2022, Ukraine has rapidly expanded its drone capabilities, evolving from modifying commercial drones to producing large-scale attack and reconnaissance systems, with the goal of intercepting every Russian drone over its territory.
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