UK’s drone capital to create more than 1,000 jobs

Swindon, in Wiltshire, has been singled out in the government’s Defence Industrial Strategy

More than 1,000 jobs are set to be created in Swindon following a surge of investment in drone manufacturing in the town.

It comes a year after the government singled out Swindon as a key hub in its Defence Industrial Strategy.

The Wiltshire town has attracted a string of major global defence tech firms over the last couple of years and is also home to a vast new MoD facility that is being used for testing drones for warfare.

The 500,000 sq ft government site is based at Panattoni Park, which previously housed Honda’s car plant until it closed for good in 2021.

According to Swindon Borough Council, the site is four times larger than NATO’s tactical drone centre in Latvia and anchors the UK’s drone evaluation pipeline. It is expected to create hundreds of highly skilled technical roles.

Elsewhere, a military drone company backed by Donald Trump’s son opened a factory in the town earlier this year after securing a near-£2m deal to support UK defence activities.

It came after Portuguese-based Tekever – one of Europe’s top drone manufacturing enterprises – and German defence firm Stark set up sites in Swindon last year.

The Tekever hub alone is projected to support up to 1,000 skilled jobs across engineering, manufacturing and R&D when fully operational.

Other firms to establish a presence in Swindon include ICOMAT, Shadowlink, Xtend and MyDefence.

Councillor Gary Sumner, leader of Swindon Borough Council, said: “Twelve months ago, the government highlighted Swindon as a vital driver of UK defence innovation. Today, we can see the real, tangible impact of that vision right across our town.”

He added: “This isn’t just about major facilities, it’s about delivering high-value, well-paid, skilled jobs for local people in an industry that is critical to our national resilience and future prosperity.”

The council says it is “well placed” to secure further investment and create hundreds more skilled jobs in the years ahead.

Swindon North MP Will Stone MP added: “We have worked well together to reorient the town away from original plans toward high-skilled roles in defence.

“It has been great to take the lead on meeting with hundreds of companies, bringing in new companies like Tekever and Stark and working to find suitable locations for them to set up.

“I’m also privileged to have led efforts alongside Brigadier Stu Nasse to bring the MoD indoor drone testing facility to our town and brought interest from across industry and government to Swindon.”