UK prisons to learn from Ukraine's anti-drone measures

The UK wants to learn from Ukraine's war time experience to tackle the threat of drones carrying weapons and drugs into British prisons, the deputy prime minister has said on a trip to the country.

David Lammy has been in Ukraine to see how anti-drone measures used against Russian forces can be applied to UK prisons, as part of a trip to mark a one hundred year security partnership between the two nations. "I've tasked British prisons with learning from Ukraine's drone expertise," he said.

"We know prison drones pose a direct threat to national security and that's why we're acting decisively to tackle these gangs by investing millions in security and cutting-edge technology." There were 1,712 drone incidents in prisons across England and Wales between April 2024 and March 2025, a 43% rise on the previous 12 months, and a new peak. Since 2021, drone incidents over prisons are up 1140%.

In the Autumn, Sky News witnessed drones delivering packages of drugs into HMP Wandsworth, a Category B men's prison in South London. Experts have previously warned that larger drones used in agriculture and capable of lifting 80kg, could in the future be used to lift inmates out of jails.

Read more from Sky News:Teenager inspired by Southport killer sentencedThe final nail in the coffin for once vital UK industry The UK has provided assistance, giving £350m in 2025 to help bolster Ukraine's supply of drones from a target of 10,000 in 2024 to 100,000 by the end of December last year. Ministers say they've secured £6.5m of investment money from UK Research and Innovation to help speed up drone research and developments.

A package of £40m had previously been announced. The money will be used to invest in new technology to allow prison staff to better detect and bring down drones..