LONDON, July 13 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news:
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The Ministry of Defence has awarded £3.16 million to three suppliers to developlow‑costinterceptorsdesigned to shoot down drones.
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The programme is part of afive‑nationEuropean effort to counterlarge‑scaledrone and missile threats.
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Contracts willsupport jobs across SMEs basedin Cambridge,Milton Keynes,Bristoland Stevenage.
The Ministry of Defence has awarded £3.16 million to three suppliers to develop newlow‑costinterceptorsdesigned to shoot down drones and other airborne threats. The UK is the first of five European partner nations to award contracts under a joint programme to strengthen air defence.
Theseinterceptors are designed toprovidea more affordable way to counter drones. This is increasingly important as countriesbegin touselarge numbers of cheap,mass-produceddrones that can overwhelmtraditionalair defence systems, which are more expensive and slower to produce. In March 2026, Russia launched the equivalent of more than 200 drones per day into Ukraine, highlighting the scale of the challenge.
The programme, calledLow‑CostAir Defence Effectors (LCADE), is being delivered by theNational ArmamentsDirector (NAD)Group as part of a widerEuropeaneffort known asLow‑CostEffectors and Autonomous Platforms (LEAP).
LEAP brings together fivecountries-theUK, Poland, France,Italyand Germany-to develop affordableeffectors and autonomous systems. Each country is running its ownnationalcompetition,tobefollowed by a multilateral phase, with the aim of stimulating growth acrosstheEuropeandefence industry, enhancing collaboration and delivering solutions to our nations'warfighters.
The programme supports the NAD Group's mission to strengthen the UK's defence capabilities by working closely with industry, speeding upinnovationand delivering equipment faster. It also supports jobs and manufacturing in the UK, while working with international partners to develop solutions that can be produced at scale and used by allied forces.
The three successful companiesareFrankenberg Technologies,Greenjetsand Cambridge Aerospace,whowill now develop and trial their designs. All are small or medium‑sized businesses. Cambridge Aerospace hasonly recently beenidentifiedtotheMinistry of Defence,demonstratingthe value of widening access to new market entrants.Each has a UK presence and has committed to building manufacturing capability in the UK, helping to support jobsacross all SMEsand contribute to regional economic growth.
The contracts were delivered byCommercial X, aNAD Groupteam tasked with accelerating the pace of procurementandreducingbarrierstoentrytosmaller companiestoget groundbreaking innovation to the frontline, faster.They havebeen responsible forgetting suppliers rapidly on contract to deliver theGovernment'shypersonicanddirected energy weaponsprogrammes, as well as recentlysigning contractsworth up to £4 million with13future British 'unicorns'.
The next phase will focus onidentifyingsolutionsthat canpotentiallybe produced in large numbers across the five partner nations. This will require strong manufacturing capacity and reliable supply chains to ensure the systems can be delivered quickly and at scale.
National Armaments Director Rupert Pearce said:
With the award of these contracts, Commercial X and the LCADE programme aredemonstratingthe powerful, low-cost capabilities we can deliverwhen weopen upDefence andcollaboratewithsome of the UK's mostagile, innovative companies. Through the LEAP programme, we arejoiningforcesacross bordersto rapidlyprocurenewsystems, supporting both the UK and our allies against the growing mass drone threat.
Anmol Manohar, Chief Executive Officer forGreenjets,said:
We are extremely proud to have been awarded this contract under LCADE and to bedemonstratingthe role innovative British businesses can play in rapidly strengthening national defence capabilities. We look forward to working with the MoD and our partners as we move into demonstration trials later this year.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
