2024-02-16 09:22:23
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said his country will supply Ukraine with thousands of drones after London pledged to support Kiev “as long as necessary”, DPA reported.
Shapps said Britain and Latvia will jointly lead an international coalition to provide real-time surveillance unmanned aerial vehicles and maritime drones.
Naval drones are small, remotely piloted vessels that are used for mine clearance, surveillance and attacks on enemy ships.
Real-time surveillance drones are used to detect enemy positions, armored vehicles and ships before they are struck. According to the British ministry, the drones in question have proven to be “very effective”.
“Together we will provide Ukraine with the capacity it needs to defend itself and win this war to ensure that Putin’s illegal and barbaric ambitions fail,” Shapps explained.
The £200 million drone production project is part of the military aid to Kiev announced last month by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. This year it will reach 2.5 billion British pounds, BTA reported.
Shapps announced London’s plans hours after it became clear that in the last quarter of last year, Britain’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.3%, DPA noted. This means that after two consecutive quarters of negative growth, the country has entered a recession.