The United Kingdom wants more drones, and fast. Yesterday, the MoD’s Defense and Security Accelerator (DASA) announced phase two of its Innovation in Support of Operations competition, aimed at bringing British defense up to date.
The MoD is looking to fund:
- UAS propulsion systems
- Autonomous navigation systems for UAS and USVs
- Counter-UAS systems
UK-registered companies can apply with projects that will take up to 4 months and cost no more than £350,000 ($461,000).
Super-powered: This ramp-up comes as the UK is trying to beef up and modernize defense in a post-Trump world. In February, the country announced it would increase defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, up from 2%.
And the government is already making money moves. Last week, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a £2.2B ($2.86B) bump in the MoD’s budget and a dedicated £400M ($526M) fund for defense innovation. Plus, 10% of defense equipment spending going forward will be used on new tech, including drones, AI, and directed energy weapons.
The government will also:
- Add £2B ($2.63B) in UK Export Finance loans for overseas buyers looking to buy UK defense products.
- Make the procurement process “quicker, more agile and more streamlined.”
- Help small businesses to get defense contracts.
The goal, Reeves said, is to ramp up defense exports and “make the UK a defen[s]e industrial superpower.”
Industrial base: Companies are already taking note. Last month, Anduril said it plans to open a UK factory for drones and R&D.
“If we get enough orders, absolutely we are planning to open a facility in the UK,” Rich Drake, Anduril’s general manager for UK and Europe, told Bloomberg.
- The UK government awarded Anduril a £30M ($39.5M) contract to supply Ukraine with attack drones in early March.
- European drone and AI company Helsing says it plans to open its own production facility in the UK and will invest £350M ($461M) in the country by 2029.