UK and Latvia to supply FPV drones to Ukraine

15 February, 2024 FPV drone handed over as part of Operation Unity, December 2023. Photo credits: SSU The UK, together with Latvia, will lead a "drone coalition" under which Ukraine will receive drones worth £250 million.

The news was published on the website of the UK Ministry of Defence. Defence Secretary Grant Shapps announced on Thursday, February 15, that the United Kingdom, together with Latvia, will lead a major coalition to develop drones for Ukraine. "FPV drones have proven highly effective on the battlefield since Russia's full-scale invasion, providing their operators with situational awareness to target enemy positions and armored vehicles.

As part of the coalition, the UK will scale up and streamline the West's provision of "first person view" (FPV) drones to Ukraine," the statement said.

FPV drone with an attached HEAT warhead for destroying armored vehicles

This is the first project to be launched from the GBP200 million (£250m) drone package that the Prime Minister announced in January this year. The UK will order thousands of FPV drones for Ukraine, including from UK manufacturers, providing a boost to the industry and delivering on the Prime Minister's priority to grow the economy. "The UK continues to do all we can to give Ukraine what it needs - upping our aid to GBP2.5bn this year and committing GBP200m to manufacture drones, making us Ukraine's largest drone supplier," Defence Secretary Grant Shapps noted.

Fixed-wing FPV drones are becoming more popular on the frontline

On the sidelines of the NATO ministerial meeting, the UK Secretary of Defense will bring together his counterparts from 13 NATO member states and Sweden to sign an agreement on two new multinational procurement initiatives for ammunition and missiles.

Spearheaded by the UK, these initiatives aim to increase defense industrial capacity across the Euro-Atlantic area, replenish stockpiles at pace, and continue support to Ukraine.

The UK is also working with NATO Allies Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United States to deliver priority air defense equipment to Ukraine.

This partnership, which Canada recently joined, has so far delivered hundreds of short and medium air defense missiles and systems to keep Ukraine's cities safe from Russian bombardment.