Ukraine Drone Factory Opens in Suffolk

A Ukrainian drone manufacturer has opened a new production facility in Suffolk, expanding manufacturing capacity to support Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

Ukrspecsystems, founded in 2014, has established the site in Mildenhall and Elmsett in East Anglia. The company said it will invest £200 million in the project, which is expected to create up to 500 jobs across the two sites and the wider UK supply chain.

The factory was opened by UK Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard. The UK government has previously ordered more than 80 SHARK and Mini-SHARK drones from Ukrspecsystems’ facilities in Ukraine. The drones are used for surveillance and coordination with strike systems.

Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard, MP, said, “Ukrspecsystems’ new factory is a vote of confidence in UK support and underlines the deepening cooperation between our nations’ defence industries. This investment will create up to 500 new jobs in the East of England, drive defence as an engine for growth, and help Ukraine defend itself against Putin’s aggression.”

The Ministry of Defence said the UK has committed more than £1 billion to Ukraine’s air defences since July 2024. The UK is also producing Octopus interceptor drones as part of a £4.5 billion military support package.

Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said,”This factory represents more than industrial cooperation – it is part of a new European security architecture built on shared responsibility and shared production. Ukraine brings battlefield experience and innovation, and together with the United Kingdom we are strengthening the capabilities needed to deter aggression.”

Ukrspecsystems manufactures several drone models, including the PD-2 and SHARK-M surveillance drones. The company says its systems have contributed to significant material losses for Russian forces since the start of the full-scale invasion.

Director of Ukrspecsystems UK, Rory Chamberlain, said, “By establishing production in the UK, Ukrspecsystems are increasing the resilience of the UK’s defence industrial base, and providing a trusted supply chain that ensures that the drones relied upon by the Ukrainian Armed Forces can be built and scaled without interruption. Delivered with UK and Ukrainian Government support and in partnership with British SMEs, this is ‘Made with Ukraine’ in action – embodying the UK-Ukraine 100-Year Partnership through real industrial capability, happening now in East Anglia.”