(PORTSMOUTH, ENGLAND) – The United Kingdom has granted Ukraine the manufacturing rights to a sophisticated electronic warfare device designed to render Ukrainian drones significantly harder for Russian forces to detect, marking a substantial deepening of defence cooperation between the two nations. The device, known as Stone Cloak, is a compact system roughly the size of a tablet computer.
Its core function is to interfere with Russian detection systems, preventing them from establishing a reliable track on Ukrainian drones. This operational capability has already been proven in combat, according to reports from Ukrainian forces.
The agreement was the first major act of defence diplomacy by the newly appointed Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, who took office on 20th July following the departure of Kier Starmer. The announcement was made on 27th July during President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s first foreign visit since the change in government.
The meeting took place aboard the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, docked at Portsmouth Naval Base. The two leaders also observed more than 200 Ukrainian sailors who have been training in the UK to operate mine hunter vessels. Prime Minister Burnham stated the technology was “an example of British innovation at its best.” President Zelenskyy described the partnership as “the strongest relationship in the entire history of cooperation with the UK.”
The transfer of intellectual property allows Ukraine to manufacture Stone Cloak domestically at scale, reducing its reliance on continued shipments from the UK Ministry of Defence, which has already delivered thousands of units directly to Ukrainian forces. The significance of the technology extends beyond its immediate use on drones.
It has been confirmed that Stone Cloak’s detection evasion capabilities are being integrated directly into Project Brakestop, Britain’s programme to build a new generation of low-cost, long-range strike missiles. This programme, involving companies MBDA UK, NGI Engineering, and Rotron Aerospace, is specifically designed to avoid dependency on components and export permissions from the United States. At least one of the competing Brakestop missile systems is expected to be delivered to Ukraine by the end of 2026.
This represents a strategic shift, embedding electronic warfare capabilities into a missile’s design from the outset rather than as an auxiliary system. The move by the new government signals significant institutional continuity in UK foreign policy. Burnham is the fifth British Prime Minister to engage directly with President Zelenskyy since the full-scale Russian invasion began in 2022, demonstrating that support for Ukraine remains a consistent bipartisan priority through each change of government.
Be First to Comment