Britain is putting British-built eyes back over the battlefield. The Ministry of Defence has awarded a contract worth up to £400 million to Tekever for the company’s AR5 long-endurance surveillance drone, while a separate £16 million package is delivering more than a thousand smaller drones from UK firms — a serious vote of confidence in domestic defence manufacturing.
According to an official Ministry of Defence announcement published on 16 September 2026, the AR5 will replace the ageing Watchkeeper system, in service since 2014, and can carry up to 50kg of cameras and sensors for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance.
The first order is for six AR5 aircraft, rising to as many as 24 by 2029. Crucially for British jobs, the drones will be built at a new Tekever factory in Swindon. The MOD says the Tekever deal will help support more than 1,000 highly skilled UK jobs by 2030 across sites including Bristol, Swindon, Lydd, London, Southampton, Edinburgh and West Wales Airport.
Alongside the big AR5 buy, more than 1,025 small drones are being delivered under the £16 million deal with three UK-based SMEs, with deliveries nearing completion: 245 FOXE-NATO drones from Evolve Dynamics in Hampshire; 670 Skydio X10 INTL systems via Marlborough Communications Limited in Surrey; and 110 SONORA training drones from a Brigantes Consulting (Exeter) partnership with Harmattan AI. The small-drone package has already created more than 30 new roles, with 18 filled in Hampshire, Surrey and Exeter, including several veterans.
Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard MP, unveiling the news at the Defence Vehicle Dynamics land warfare exhibition, said: “Our soldiers deserve the best technology, and that’s what we’re delivering… This is defence procurement that backs British industry, creates skilled jobs and keeps our Armed Forces ahead of our adversaries.” Tekever UK Managing Director Karl Brew added that the investment allows the company to grow UK operations and bring Ukraine-proven surveillance technology into British service.
The small-drone programme sits under Project Rapstone, the Army’s push to get kit from industry to the front line within 24 months and help double fighting power by 2027. The wider Defence Investment Plan commits fresh money to long-range surveillance and the next generation of uncrewed aerial systems.
For readers of the Conservative Post, the headline is simple: when Britain buys British kit, soldiers get better protection and British towns get skilled work. Swindon, Bristol, Hampshire, Surrey, Exeter, Edinburgh and Wales are all in the frame. That is positive press for Britain, and a reminder that a serious country still builds the tools of its own defence.
Source: Ministry of Defence / GOV.UK, 16 September 2026.
