Ukraine and UK to roll out 1,000 Octopus interceptor drones each month from February
Ukraine and the United Kingdom are set to begin producing 1,000 Octopus interceptor drones per month starting in February.
Source: Ukraine's Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal on X (Twitter)
Details: Shmyhal and UK Defence Secretary John Healey, who is on a visit to Kyiv, have signed a roadmap to implement the 100-year defence partnership agreement previously signed by the two countries.
The document sets out defence cooperation for 2026 across several key security areas.
Delegations from Ukraine and the UK signed a license agreement for the production of Ukrainian interceptor drones back in November 2025. According to the plan, Ukrainian interceptors are manufactured in the UK and then transferred to Ukraine. The drones themselves were presented in London by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in late October.
Shmyhal said Octopus is a Ukrainian system for intercepting Shahed drones, which has been engineered by Ukraine's Armed Forces and tested on the battlefield. It has demonstrated combat reliability at night, under jamming and at low altitudes.
The two defence officials also discussed strengthening Ukraine's air defence and supplying ammunition for air defence systems against the backdrop of Russia's latest large-scale combined attack.
Particular attention was paid to joint strategic industrial projects in air defence and long-range weapons, the potential to localise production of Gripen fighters using British technology, and safeguarding Ukraine's maritime space.
Shmyhal and Healey also discussed preparations for a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (also known as the Ramstein format), which is planned for February.
The century-long partnership between Ukraine and the UK provides for long-term defence cooperation, including joint projects in the field of security and the defence industry.
Background: Ukrainska Pravda earlier reported that the Octopus drone went into mass production in Ukraine in November 2025. The interceptors will be built by Heneral Chereshnia, a Ukrainian defence firm, which signed a licence agreement with the Ministry of Defence in December 2025.
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