A Russian propagandist and close ally of Vladimir Putin has issued a call to attack Britain's drone factories. TV and radio presenter Vladimir Solovyov suggested that the country should pay for sending drones to Ukraine, which have been used in long-range strikes into Russia.
He said during his radio show Full Contact: "The British are openly saying that these are their drones; then why are we yet to destroy factories in Britain? Because something will happen? What else has to happen? Will Britain use all of its might that it doesn't have?"
Solovyov added: "England, why are we yet to carry out the strikes against the factories that produce the drones for the strikes against our territory?"
Swindon Identified as Primary Drone Manufacturing Hub
While there is no exact national total for drone factories in the UK as production is decentralised across various aerospace and defence contractors, Swindon alone hosts nine different drone companies. The Wiltshire town is seen as the primary manufacturing hub, with already established operations as well as further agreements to set up more.
Its active and incoming firms include German defence tech firm Stark, Tekever, Neros Technologies, DSEI Flyby, and Munin Dynamics, plus Europe's largest indoor drone testing site, the Uncrewed Systems Centre at Panattoni Park.
Other UK Drone Manufacturing Sites
Elsewhere, companies such as Windracers and Malloy Aeronautics build tactical, logistics, and reconnaissance systems across various specialised UK aerospace facilities. Major Ukrainian drone manufacturer Ukrspecsystems operates a £200 million production and testing facility in Suffolk, building combat-proven reconnaissance platforms such as the PD-2 and Shark UAVs.
Specialised defence contractors and developers, such as Callen-Lenz, build and test tactical uncrewed air systems in rural and military-adjacent test sites across southern England. In Scotland, regional commercial and custom UAV manufacturers like the Edinburgh Drone Company design and build specialised fixed-wing and multi-rotor drones near Edinburgh.
Previous Russian Warnings
This is not the first warning from Russia over its providing Ukraine with drone technology and Storm Shadow missiles. The Russian Embassy previously said, "London's actions will inevitably carry consequences for which it will have to answer."
