Ukrspecsystems says UK plant's operations have been stalled by export permit delays

A production facility in the United Kingdom owned by Ukrainian drone manufacturer Ukrspecsystems has yet to become fully operational because it has not received approval to export technology.

Source: Ukrspecsystems Director Dmytro Khasapov and Deputy Director Andrii Rymaruk in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda

Quote: "Our company operates in accordance with the law. The plant in the UK is not functioning properly because we are still waiting for approval from the export control authorities to transfer technology. In Poland our facilities manufacture either products with the relevant permits or products that do not require permits."

Details: The company confirmed that the plant has not started operating despite having officially opened earlier this year in a ceremony attended by Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's ambassador to the UK and former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, and British officials.

Quote: "That's right. We have not been granted permission to export the technology needed to launch the plant. We opened the site but have not received the required permits, so everything is at a standstill. We went through the procedures with the [Ukrainian] State Service for Export Control and the Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade, but our applications were rejected because 'the product is used by the defence forces'. We kept going round in circles, submitting applications and attending commission meetings. We were not allowed to present our application, and then we were simply told it had been rejected again."

According to Ukrspecsystems, the UK site currently consists of the premises and a small number of employees working to launch operations. The amount of money invested is "significantly less than hundreds of thousands of dollars".

The company added that around 90% of its business is in Ukraine, where it continues to prioritise investment in upgrading its Ukrainian capabilities and products.

Quote: "Companies are moving assets abroad because there is not enough financing inside the country. We are working to ensure the government listens to us and establishes a transparent mechanism for financing, procurement and exports so that there is no need to build part of the business abroad."

Background:

• Last year, Ukrspecsystems announced a £200 million investment project in East Anglia, which envisaged building an 11,000-sq-m production facility and establishing a testing and training centre.
• Zaluzhnyi announced at the end of February 2026 that the first Ukrainian defence manufacturing facility in the UK – Ukrspecsystems' production complex – had begun operating.
• The company later said the site was expected to begin with large-module assembly of the PD-2 and Shark drone systems. The products manufactured in this joint project between Ukraine and its British partners are intended to be supplied to the Ukrainian military.

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