A British state-backed investor is taking a stake in a drone company that grew out of Ukraine's war effort. According to a government announcement on GOV.UK, the National Wealth Fund will invest £113 million in UFORCE, a firm founded in Ukraine that now has its headquarters in the UK. That sum is the fund's share of a larger Series A round worth $700 million (over £525 million).
The government presents the deal as serving both the economy and national security. By its account, the company's British expansion should bring hundreds of high-skilled roles in artificial intelligence, software, engineering and advanced manufacturing. These are commitments set out in the announcement. They are not jobs that already exist.
British parts for British-built boats
UFORCE intends to enlarge its UK workforce across engineering, training and production. Under the plan, domestic firms will supply the hulls, engines, electronics and fit-out of its vessels. British suppliers are expected to account for more than 70% of what goes into every boat assembled in the UK. The company also plans to create and sponsor apprenticeships, working with universities and colleges nationwide.
From trainer to trainee
UFORCE develops autonomous and uncrewed systems for use at sea, on land and in the air, technology the government calls combat-proven. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting tried it himself aboard HMS Prince of Wales in Norway. From the ship, he steered a UFORCE MV7, an uncrewed boat from the Magura family, which was positioned in the Atlantic near Portugal, more than 1,500 miles away.
Streeting cast the deal as a reversal of roles between the two countries: "In just a few years the UK has gone from training Ukraine to being trained by Ukraine." He argued that the speed of innovation has become a key gauge of military strength.
A base for allies
According to the government, UFORCE will use its UK operations to back partner nations, among them members of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), with an emphasis on capabilities for Northern seas. The company's systems are to be produced in Britain for the UK, Ukraine and allied countries. The government also expects the UK to become a major centre for the software, command-and-control and production work behind UFORCE's growth worldwide.
Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey said the investment was exactly the kind of deal the National Wealth Fund was created to make, and that it would strengthen both economic and national security. Oliver Holbourn, the fund's chief executive, called it evidence of the close ties the UK and Ukraine have built. UFORCE chief executive Oleg Rogynskyy said Britain had backed Ukraine's defence technology sector early on, and that his firm could now help the UK develop its own in return. The government described the investment as an example of the UK-Ukraine 100 Year Partnership.
