TEKEVER signs up to £400 million contract to supply AR5 drones to British Army

TEKEVER has signed a contract worth up to £400 million with the UK Ministry of Defence to bring its AR5 long-endurance uncrewed aerial system into service with the British Army.

The agreement, signed under Project CORVUS, formalises a programme announced earlier this summer and will see 24 AR5 aircraft brought into British Army service by 2029.

The AR5 will replace the Watchkeeper surveillance system, which has been in British service since 2014. The new platform will provide persistent long-range intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, giving commanders real-time information across the battlefield.

The UK Ministry of Defence says the aircraft can carry up to 50 kilograms of cameras and other sensor payloads and offers improved endurance, reliability and intelligence-gathering capability compared with the system it is replacing.

Proven in Ukraine

TEKEVER’s selection is closely tied to operational experience gained in Ukraine.

According to the company, the AR5 platform has accumulated more than 50,000 operational flight hours in Ukraine since 2022. That combat experience has increasingly become a central part of TEKEVER’s expansion across the European defence market.

The British programme is intended to provide persistent ISR at longer ranges and for longer periods, complementing smaller tactical drones operated closer to the front line.

Speaking at the Defence Vehicle Dynamics 2026 exhibition, UK Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard said the new systems would improve the Army’s ability to “see, understand and act first.”

The Ministry of Defence is separately acquiring more than 1,000 smaller ISR drones under contracts worth a combined £16 million, creating a mix of short-range tactical systems and larger long-endurance platforms such as the AR5.

UK production expands

AR5 manufacturing for the British programme will be centred at TEKEVER’s new facility in Swindon.

The company is also expanding engineering, training and operational support activities across the UK, with British small and medium-sized companies expected to participate in the CORVUS supply chain.

The contract is part of a broader push by TEKEVER to establish a larger industrial presence in Britain. The company has separately announced its £400 million OVERMATCH investment programme for the UK over five years. That investment programme is distinct from the CORVUS procurement contract, which is itself valued at up to £400 million.

TEKEVER has grown rapidly in the European autonomous-systems market. In addition to its British activities, the company signed an agreement with the Portuguese Air Force in August to supply AR5 systems for maritime surveillance, security and defence missions.

Under CORVUS, the first AR5 systems are expected to begin entering British Army service later in 2026, with the full fleet of 24 aircraft scheduled to be in service by 2029.