The UK has signed an almost £30 million ($38 million) contract to supply Ukraine’s military with Altius-600M and -700M loitering munitions, with the weapons to be supplied by Anduril Industries’ UK arm.
“Ukraine’s armed forces will take delivery of the drones, launchers and spare parts over the coming months,” the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) says.
The order was announced on 6 March during a visit to Washington, DC by UK defence secretary John Healey, who visited Anduril’s headquarters and will also hold talks with his US counterpart Pete Hegseth.
“We are determined to achieve a secure, lasting peace in Ukraine, which means putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position to prevent any return to Russian aggression,” Healey says.
“Altius-M delivers best-in-class loitering time and range, while leveraging autonomy to execute collaborative teaming and coordinated strikes,” according to its US developer. The company says the larger -700M model can carry a warhead weighing up to 15kg (33lb).
“Our focus on developing and deploying technology where and when it’s needed is at the core of everything we do – from the rapid delivery of Altius to Ukraine to the expansion of our presence here in the UK,” says Dr Rich Drake, managing director of Anduril UK and Europe.
London’s support to Kyiv has already seen it supply the Ukrainian military with over 10,000 drones, and in January it was announced that 30,000 more will be provided via the international Drone Capability Coalition – co-led by the UK and Latvia – for surveillance and attack tasks.
Its latest procurement has been advanced via the International Fund for Ukraine, which has amassed more than £1.3 billion of pledges, including £500 million from the UK.
The UK and other major European NATO nations including France and Germany are stepping up their support for Ukraine as the administration of US President Donald Trump has halted its provision of some equipment and intelligence to the country. The European allies also are taking steps to increase their defence spending, with the UK to boost its commitment to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027, from a current 2.3%.
Trump – who is attempting to drive a potential ceasefire process with Russia – earlier this month accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of “gambling with World War Three” by not backing his efforts.
