Advancing UK Aerospace, Defence, Security & Space Solutions Worldwide
  • Home
  • /
  • Defence
  • /
  • Military package to support Ukraine's Armed Forces

Defence

Military package to support Ukraine's Armed Forces

The UK is ramping up rapid military support to Ukraine to put them in the strongest position to secure a lasting peace as partners met in Brussels on Friday for the 27th Ukraine Defence Contact Group, chaired by the UK and Germany, with a Package supporting UK jobs and growth, securing equipment and repair contracts connecting UK companies with Ukrainian industry.

Image courtesy MoD

The security of the UK and Europe starts in Ukraine and a major new military support package will be delivered by British and Ukrainian suppliers to help boost Ukraine’s Armed Forces as they continue to defend against Russian attack. As chair of the meeting, the UK has secured ambitious pledges for Ukraine from donor countries.

Advertisement
DSEI 2025

Today’s package, worth £450 million, includes £350 million from the UK from this year’s record £4.5 billion military support funding for Ukraine. Further funding is being provided by Norway, via the UK-led International Fund for Ukraine.

The support package will be announced by Defence Secretary John Healey when he chairs the contact group alongside German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius later today, where 50 nations will come together to coordinate urgent military support for Ukraine.

It will include £160 million of UK funding to provide repairs and maintenance to vehicles and equipment the UK has already provided to Ukraine – partnering UK companies with Ukrainian industry, supporting the UK economy and skilled jobs.

Today’s support also includes a new ‘close fight’ military aid package – with funding for radar systems, anti-tank mines and hundreds of thousands of drones - worth more than £250 million, using funding from the UK and Norway. The package builds on the work of the drone capability coalition, led by the UK and Latvia.

This will include high manoeuvrable first-person view (FPV) drones to attack targets, and drones which can drop explosives on Russian positions. These two types of drones are reported to be responsible for 60-70% of damage currently caused to Russian equipment.

The new kit will be procured from a mixture of UK and Ukrainian suppliers, demonstrating how investment into Ukraine’s defence supports jobs and the economies of both the UK and Ukraine.

The £160 million package for equipment repairs and maintenance will ensure vital armoured vehicles and other equipment can get back to the battlefield as quickly as possible. It will be implemented through the UK’s Taskforce HIRST, linking UK and Ukrainian companies to ensure repairs can be conducted in country to ensure that vital equipment is returned to the frontline as quickly as possible.

The support provides opportunities for British companies to learn lessons from the battlefield and support the UK’s own industrial capabilities, an example of the UK-Ukraine 100-year partnership announced by the Prime Minister in action.

Advertisement
ODU RT

Defence Secretary John Healey MP said: "The work of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group is vital to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position and pile pressure on Putin to help force him to end this terrible war.

"We cannot jeopardise peace by forgetting the war, which is why today’s major package will surge support to Ukraine’s frontline fight.

"Twenty-twenty-five is the critical year for Ukraine. Our job as defence ministers is to put into the hands of the Ukrainian war fighters what they need. We must step up to deter Russian aggression by continuing to bolster Ukraine’s defences."

Last Thursday the Defence Secretary and his French counterpart, Minister Lecornu, chaired the first meeting of Coalition of the Willing defence ministers, bringing together 30 countries to progress planning for a reassurance force to support a lasting peace in Ukraine.

The meeting followed a series of high-level meetings of leaders and defence chiefs in the last month to move forward with operational planning.

This work delivers on the Prime Minister’s four-point plan to support Ukraine by driving the delivery of weapons and equipment, boosting Ukraine’s defensive capabilities in the long term, working with allies to develop robust security assurances and keeping up pressure on Putin.

The UK is fully committed to working with allies to step up support to ensure Ukraine remains in the strongest possible position, which is why £4.5 billion of military support will be provided this year – more than ever before.

As well as demonstrating leadership through the Ukraine Defence Contact Group and Coalition of the Willing, the UK is also contributing heavily to NATO’s Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU) Command, which is coordinating further support for Ukraine in the form of training and providing more capabilities. Through the International Fund for Ukraine, the UK will manage the NSATU Trust Fund for rapid procurement – which Canada, Denmark and Iceland have already pledged funding towards, to meet Ukraine’s urgent equipment support and logistical needs.

Advertisement
Babcock LB
UK-US trade deal confirmed

Aerospace Defence

UK-US trade deal confirmed

9 May 2025

The UK Government confirmed yesterday - on the 80th anniversary of VE Day - that the UK is the first nation to secure a trade deal with the new US administration.

RTX

Defence

RTX's Raytheon completes first PhantomStrike flight test

9 May 2025

RTX's Raytheon has successfully completed the first flight test of its PhantomStrike radar on its Multi-Program Testbed aircraft.

DE&S awards Rolls-Royce Typhoon engine support contract

Defence

DE&S awards Rolls-Royce Typhoon engine support contract

9 May 2025

Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) has awarded a contract to Rolls-Royce - worth £563 million - for the continued maintenance and repair of EJ200 engines for Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoons.

UK issues MTC for RAF

Defence

UK issues MTC for RAF's Protector RG Mk1

9 May 2025

The UK’s Military Aviation Authority has issued a Military Type Certificate (MTC) to the Royal Air Force’s Protector RG Mk1 uncrewed aircraft - also designated the MQ-9B - certifying that it has passed a rigorous airworthiness assessment and verifying it is safe to operate without geographic restrictions, including over populous areas.

Advertisement
ODU RT
Airframe Designs creates full-scale 3D-printed torpedo mock-up

Defence

Airframe Designs creates full-scale 3D-printed torpedo mock-up

8 May 2025

Aerospace leader Airframe Designs has been working with a global prime defence contractor to create a full-scale 3D-printed mock-up of a torpedo-style weapon using polymer additive manufacturing.

UK

Defence

UK's Defence Standard for SAF updated

8 May 2025

A bp led taskforce has achieved approval from the UK Ministry of Defence for co-processing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) with up to 30% renewable hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) feedstock concentration, a significant increase from the current limit of 5%, has been led by bp.

Advertisement
ODU RT