UAV manufacturers flock to UK as MoD spends £270 million on Tekever drones for Ukraine
The AR3 was acquired by the RAF, where it is called StormShroud. (Photo: RAF)
On 15 September 2025, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed that Tekever would open the UK’s largest drone production facility in Swindon in 2026. The news follows a recent trend of several other manufacturers that have supplied drones to Ukraine also announcing the opening of UK facilities.
Tekever’s 254,000sq ft site – its fourth site in the UK – will produce the AR5, AR3 and the new AR3 EVO, which was revealed at DSEI 2025, as reported by Shephard. The announcement followed the launch of Tekever’s OVERMATCH programme, which is a five-year initiative to create more than 1,000 highly skilled jobs and invest more than £400 million (US$539.36 million) into British drone production and advanced artificial intelligence (AI) warfare capabilities.
The company also confirmed that the UK had spent approximately £270 million on Tekever uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAVs) since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including contributions from
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