Overview
- About £30 million is directed to counter-drone systems to protect the UK and allies in response to rising Russia-linked drone incursions across Europe.
- The package includes more than £25 million for the Royal Navy’s Excalibur uncrewed AI submarine and £20 million to develop laser weapons to complement the DragonFire system.
- Further awards allocate £7.5 million for a full-sized autonomous helicopter with flight trials underway, £12 million for an air-launched collaborative UAV, and £5 million for prototype land autonomous platforms.
- Funding in 2025 reaches 20 UK SMEs, 11 micro-SMEs, and two academic institutions as the government seeks to scale domestic suppliers.
- Launched in July with a ringfenced annual budget of at least £400 million, UKDI is positioned as the Ministry of Defence’s innovation hub to move prototypes to deployment more quickly.