The UK has taken delivery of more than 8,000 uncrewed systems since July 2024 as part of a £450 million investment in drones and related technologies, according to Defence Minister Luke Pollard.
Responding to a series of written parliamentary questions from Conservative MP James Cartlidge, Pollard said the spending does not include support to Ukraine and is focused on UK capability.
“The Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) spend of over £450 million on drones does not include spend in support of Ukraine,” he said, adding that “over £300 million of the total spend was on uncrewed systems research and development, and the remaining spent on uncrewed system procurement.”
Pollard confirmed that “the MOD has had delivery of over 8,000 uncrewed systems since July 2024,” but declined to provide a detailed breakdown of platforms or roles.
“Due to operational security considerations, it is important to guard against the threat of adversary data aggregation regarding the specific detailed breakdown of UK military capability, including platform numbers and types, so it would be inappropriate to comment further,” he said.
The refusal covers multiple areas raised in the questions, including the number of drones procured by category such as reconnaissance, logistics, FPV and long-range one-way attack systems, as well as the number of contracts signed and the proportion of spending directed towards UK industry.
Pollard did confirm that the Ministry of Defence is working with a broad industrial base, stating that “the MOD works with over 60 companies to deliver drones for defence, 17 of which are British companies,” but added that the department was “unable to provide a figure of total drone contracts at this time.”