Kyiv and London have agreed to begin licensed production of the OCTOPUS anti-aircraft drone at British industrial facilities, according to the Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal.
“This is a historical precedent and the next important step that will allow the production of Ukrainian interceptors in Great Britain, which have proven their effectiveness in the fight against Shaheds,” Shmyhal announced the deal in a social media post on Thursday, Nov. 27.
Shmyhal said mass production is planned, potentially reaching several thousand units per month, with all systems destined for Ukraine’s air defense.
According to Bloomberg, the UK aims to manufacture around 2,000 OCTOPUS drones monthly for delivery to Ukraine.
The OCTOPUS – developed and tested in Ukraine – was presented by President Volodymyr Zelensky during his visit to the UK in late October.
After meeting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Zelensky confirmed that the UK had agreed to produce the first batch for further trials in Ukraine.
Military outlet Defense Express wrote that the OCTOPUS is the first major Ukrainian-British joint project to result from bilateral technology exchange.
The drone was designed by Ukraine’s Ukrspecsystems, part of the NAUDI group, with support from British scientists and engineers. Ukrspecsystems UK will produce the drones at its facility in Mildenhall, eastern England.
Kyiv launched serial production of the drone domestically on Nov. 14, assigning manufacturing to three Ukrainian companies to ensure rapid scalability.
Technical specifications remain classified, though OCTOPUS has reportedly demonstrated strong performance in combat.
It reportedly operates effectively at night, under strong electronic warfare (EW) interference, and at low altitudes.
The drone uses a “rocket-like” airframe with X-shaped wings and electric motors at the tips, though key systems – such as target guidance – remain classified, as per Defense Express.
Defense analysts said OCTOPUS’s main advantage is its cost-efficiency. The UK Ministry of Defence estimates the drone costs less than 10% of the value of the targets it destroys, offering a far cheaper alternative to traditional air-defense missiles.
London is also considering OCTOPUS as a component of a future European “drone wall” – a continuous air-defense shield along NATO’s eastern flank to counter Russian drone threats.
Ukraine would soon be able to deploy at least 1,000 interceptor drones per day to counter Russian attacks, Shmyhal said in late September.
At the time, Shmyhal said Russia was launching up to 800 drones a night, prompting Ukraine to expand its capabilities rapidly. The peak came in September with 810 drones in a single night – a figure that has since edged down.
“This level will be achieved,” Shmyhal said. “I cannot disclose the current number, but in the near future this target will be implemented.”
He added that production is not the main challenge. The real obstacles are ground-based control systems, radars, and AI-powered targeting.
“This is a large system, and its implementation takes some time,” he said. “But we are moving toward this goal confidently, according to plan.”