LONDON — European nations are setting up a drone coalition, led by Latvia and Britain, to supply and support the production of thousands of first-person-view drones for the Ukrainian military.
Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden and Ukraine signed a letter of intent alongside Latvia to join the drone coalition Feb 14.
The number of countries swelled further on Feb. 15 when the U.K. announced it was also joining the grouping as co-leader with Latvia.
“Along with the existing countries that have already joined the drone coalition, the U.K. will make a significant contribution by supporting Ukraine both with technology and helping to develop skills,” said Latvian defense minister Andris Sprūds.
The drone coalition intends to deliver one million drones to Ukraine, said the Latvian MoD in a statement. No timeline for the drone deliveries was given by officials in Riga.
The Latvian MoD said it intends to spend at least €10 million ($11 million) this year on drones for Ukraine.
“By signing the letter of intent, countries have agreed to commit resources for manufacturing of drones and will deliver these drones and spare parts to Ukraine, where they will be tested,” said the Latvian MoD.
The British will be the lead nation for scaling up and streamlining the West’s provision of the miniature drones to Ukraine.
A spokesperson for the British MoD declined to give any details beyond saying a drone procurement process will be announced in due course.
As for Latvia’s role, the country is expected to host a drone school for Ukrainian operators and establish a test range to check the performance of drones, the British spokesperson said.
British Defence Secretary Gregg Shapps said the U.K. was already Kyiv’s largest drone supplier and had earmarked £200 million ($252 million) this year to manufacturing drones of various types destined for the battlefield.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced in January that aside from small, low-cost, uncrewed air vehicles the Ministry of Defence would be buying long-range strike, sea drones and other types under the pledge.
The announcement on the drone coalition by the two defense ministers was made on the sidelines of a NATO ministerial meeting taking place in Brussels.
Small drones have proven highly effective on the battlefield since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, providing operators with situational awareness to target enemy positions, armored vehicles, and ships with explosive ordnance. First-person-view drones are typically piloted with the help of goggles, allowing operators to see a live video feed from the drone’s camera.
The British MoD said it would be running an industry competition to produce large numbers of the drones at an affordable price.
The Royal United Services Institute think tank in London estimated last year that Ukraine was losing 10,000 unmanned aerial vehicles a month.
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