Radar-jamming drones are to fly alongside British fighter jets in a major boost to Britain's ability to knock out enemy air defences. The UK is investing an initial £19 million into the drones, known as StormShroud, which can disrupt and confuse radar at long-range to help combat aircraft carrying out strikes unseen.

Using learnings from the war in Ukraine, StormShroud will fly alongside the RAF's Typhoon and F-35Bs in what the UK is hailing as "revolutionary new tactics". The drones, which came into operation on Friday, are the first of a family of next-generation drones being delivered to the RAF. StormShroud represents the RAF's maiden uncrewed high-end electronic warfare platform and is described as a step change in capability.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who is visiting a site in the south-east of England to see what goes into manufacturing the drones, said the Government is taking "the bold action needed to stand up to Putin and ruthlessly protect UK and European security".

The Government says StormShroud is being being taken from the factory to the frontline at an "unprecedented pace", which will be welcome news to critics who have argued defence procurement has been too slow.

StormShroud is significant addition to the RAF's drone fleet which primarily focuses on reconnaissance or strike missions.

British-Portuguese firm Tekever will manufacture the drones in the UK, supporting 200 jobs.

The company has announced plans to invest a further £400 million over the next five years across the UK and create up to an extra 1,000 skilled jobs.

StormShroud is a Tekever AR3 drone, fitted with an advanced BriteStorm signal jammer made by defence giant Leonardo.

The unmanned aerial system has been used extensively by Ukraine's armed forces against Russia.

Drones have been used to a devastating effect in the conflict.

The Government is spending at least 10% of the defence equipment budget on technologies, including drones and AI-enabled kit.

Defence minister Al Carns recently called on the a need to mass produce UAVs "coupled with high end sophisticated weapons systems across all domains", arguing the nature of warfare has changed.

"For the first time since WWI a weapon system other than artillery (offensive support) has resulted in more casualties——drones!," he wrote on social media.

The UK plans to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence by 2027.