New Defence Secretary comes out preventing over army spending row with large drone centre opening
In his new role as Defence Secretary, ex-Para Dan Jarvis is at the centre of new drone claims after his two colleagues quit over accusation the PM has financially snubbed the Armed Forces
New Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis with The Proteus Drone – designed to perform hazardous missions(Image: Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street)
Britain has launched Europe’s biggest-ever drone testing centre aimed at fighting off the growing threat of unmanned aerial attacks, amid a major bust-up over defence funding.
Fresh into his new job, Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis opened the Swindon drone establishment hours after taking over from from his predecessor John Healey, who quit over a row with the Prime Minister. Uncrewed Systems Centre, based at new DroneTEX facility, is aimed at supporting new businesses as part of a major post-Cold War to boost defence spending.
It comes just 24 hours after the shocking resignation of former Defence Secretary Healey and Armed Forces Minister Al Cairns, a former Royal Marine officer. Both politicians quit in a furious row over claims the government wasn’t committing enough money toward the UK’s Armed Forces. Mr Cairns pushed drones as one area in which the UK is weak on the day he quit.
Jarvis, MP, who served with the Parachute Regiment in the Balkans, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan accepted the role in the wake of Healey. War in Ukraine has shown how warfare has changed dramatically in favour of unmanned systems such as aerial and maritime drones. On Friday, Ukraine scored a huge hit against Russia, blasting several oil and gas installations in its latest deep-strike operation against the Kremlin.
Ukraine uses roughly 200,000 drones a month and there were 700 drones launched per day at the height of conflict in Iran. The new Uncrewed Systems Centre in Swindon, will help the UK’s Armed Forces stay at the leading edge of innovation and take advantage of constantly evolving technologies.
At the opening of the USC, Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis MP said: “The character of warfare is changing, and it is changing fast. From Ukraine to the Middle East, we are seeing right now how uncrewed systems are rapidly evolving and reshaping conflicts – on land, in the air and at sea Our new DroneTEX facility at the heart of our Uncrewed Systems Centre is Europe’s largest drone test and development facility, and will help us ensure the UK embraces technologies that are redefining warfare.
“Where once new technology could take years from inception to reaching our Armed Forces, we will now be able to develop and field new tech in a matter of weeks – because in this new era, those who innovate fastest will win.”
The state-of-the-art centre will work with British companies, supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs), unlocking exports and creating high-skilled jobs. The Strategic Defence Review announced a major increase in autonomy investment of £2billion in this parliament, taking total defence investment in autonomous systems to £4billion.
The MOD has spent over £450million on uncrewed systems, including £300million on their research and development since July 2024. In the last year, UK Defence Innovation has injected over £142million in rapid investment to scale up production of drones and anti-drone weapons.
UKDI is the focal point for innovation within the Ministry of Defence, backed by a ring-fenced annual budget of at least £400million, enabling UK companies to scale up innovative prototypes rapidly.
