Skyeton and Prevail Partners form UK-Ukraine joint venture for Raybird drone production

Raybird has flown thousands of operational hours with minimal losses, thanks to its robust design and best-in-class modular capabilities. The drone includes a gimbal-stabilised camera, high-resolution reconnaissance tools, synthetic aperture radar, and radio frequency locators, all of which can be hot-swapped without tools.

Described as a NATO Class 1 UAS, Raybird is valued by frontline troops for its mobility and quick deployment time of under 25 minutes. Its high mission success rate and adaptability have made it a critical asset in Ukraine, where it has logged over 350,000 flight hours and contributed to the destruction of billions of dollars’ worth of enemy assets.

The joint venture is the first UK-Ukraine partnership of its kind and aligns with priorities set out in the UK’s Strategic Defence Review, including the proposal of a UK Drone Centre. The initiative was reinforced by a recent accord between Sir Keir Starmer and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to fast-track drone technology cooperation.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith praised the development, stating: “This joint venture is an important step in developing Britain’s long-range drone manufacturing capabilities. I recently visited Skyeton’s impressive facilities in Ukraine and saw first-hand its world-class engineers and battlefield-tested technologies and processes, making it one of the top dual-use drone manufacturers globally.”

He added, “Skyeton’s JV with Prevail’s strategic, operational and intelligence capabilities will help put Britain at the forefront of drone technology and production, tapping into our world-class talented pool of engineers, universities and R&D centres, creating employment and upskilling opportunities.”

Production of the Raybird will now begin in the UK, with systems intended for continued deployment in Ukraine as well as for integration into UK and NATO military operations. The partnership aims to deliver flexible, scalable and cost-effective unmanned aerial capabilities tailored to the modern threat environment.

Justin Hedges, OBE, Chairman of Prevail Partners, said: “Prevail has been present in Ukraine since before the Russian invasion and over that time, we’ve witnessed the exceptional innovation of UAS technology. We identified Raybird as a world-leading aircraft with capabilities well beyond those of other Class 1 UAS; as a result, we made the decision to seek a joint venture with Skyeton to build Raybird in the UK, help develop its integration into the UK’s and NATO’s battlefield operations and maritime security and thereby answer some of the challenges that the Strategic Defence Review presented.”

Pavlo Shevchuk, International CEO at Skyeton, added: “Raybird has been incredibly effective under the most demanding conditions on the Ukrainian battlefield. By forming an alliance with a respected British company, bringing experience in platform integration and systems deployment, we expect the utility of our unmanned aerial system to grow globally and exponentially.”