How can we prepare for global war when the military can't even buy a few drones?

As the UK Government announces new funding to train young people in official drone pilot qualifications, one thing is already crystal clear: the way we procure drones for defence is no longer fit for purpose.

The pace of technological change, particularly in military drone systems and autonomous technologies, has outstripped the machinery of Whitehall. With that, the UK risks being hamstrung by legacy procurement models, opaque processes, and over-centralised control.

This is not just about drones. It's about the future of military capability, national security, and industrial competitiveness.

We know that the character of warfare is changing. Low-cost, high-impact autonomous systems are reshaping the battlefield, offering nations the ability to achieve strategic effects at a fraction of traditional costs.

The UK has the talent and the technologies, many of which reside within our own small and medium-sized enterprise base, but it lacks the mechanism to bring them to the front line effectively.

SMEs are driving the drone revolution, yet most struggle to navigate the Ministry of Defence’s labyrinth of procurement bureaucracy. The result? Promising innovations never reach our forces. Projects stall. Costs spiral. And we fall further behind.

There is a tragic irony in watching British companies, world-class in their specialist fields, flounder under the weight of government red tape. These companies aren’t the problem; they’re the solution. But they need support to scale, and a structured way to engage meaningfully with defence.

Without urgent reform, the UK will continue to miss out on frontier technologies, lose global market share, and weaken its ability to respond at pace to emerging threats.

There must be a better model that provides the government with the agility it needs, while offering businesses the clarity and support they deserve. A model which establishes a transparent intermediary between the Ministry of Defence and the drone and robotics ecosystem streamlines SME engagement and co-manages delivery, allowing the MoD to focus on strategy. At the same time, the Framework Partner ensures that technologies mature quickly and efficiently.

This is procurement modernisation that matches the speed of innovation. And it delivers not just military advantage, but economic value, by nurturing domestic capability and avoiding the costly failures of poorly managed projects.

Other nations are catching on to this. Drone Major Group has already presented this framework to governments in Eastern Europe, who recognise the urgency and also the strategic opportunity. In regions facing real and present threats, as we know too well, agility is not a luxury; it's a necessity.

The UK cannot afford to watch from the sidelines. If we want to remain a leader in the drone revolution, we must empower those best placed to deliver results.

With the right model, the UK can be both the architect and the beneficiary of a new drone defence age - one that values speed, transparency, and technological excellence. Let’s lead this revolution before we’re forced to follow it.

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Robert Garbett, Former Chairman of the Committee of the British Standards Institute responsible for UK drone and counter-drone standards and Founder and Chief Executive of Drone Major Group.

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