Project OCTOPUS: The UK to Manufacture Ukrainian-Designed Interceptor Drones

The United Kingdom will commence mass production of interceptor drones for Ukraine, which were developed under the Project OCTOPUS initiative.

The UK government announced this in a press release.

According to the release, the drone was developed in Ukraine with the support of British scientists and engineers. It has proven effective on the battlefield.

Production is expected to reach thousands of units per month for delivery to Ukraine.

This is the first joint project to be announced on September 11 at the DSEI exhibition in London, as part of a groundbreaking defense technology exchange agreement between the two countries.

The UK government emphasized that interceptor drones are significantly cheaper than conventional air defense missiles and have demonstrated their effectiveness against Shahed/Geran-2 strike drones used by Russia to attack Ukrainian cities.

Earlier in September, Defence Secretary John Healey stated that the UK is considering supplying Ukraine with NIGHTFALL short-range ballistic missiles once their development is complete.

“For more than three and a half years, we in the United Kingdom have been among the first to support Ukraine and provide it with the assistance it needs. We always strive to respond to what Ukraine believes it needs most. But when we do so, we do not disclose the details of the technologies we provide,” he noted.

Militarnyi reported the launch of this missile’s development in late August of this year.

It has been stated that the missile will have a range of over 600 kilometers and carry around 300 kilograms of explosives, meaning the total weight of the warhead is likely to reach 400-500 kilograms.

Last week, it was announced that Ukrainian drone manufacturer Ukrspecsystems will invest £200 million (approximately $250 million) in a new plant in Mildenhall, United Kingdom.

In addition to the plant, which is planned to cover an area of 11,000 square meters, the project also includes the construction of a testing and training center in Elmsett.