UK Defence Secretary, Dan Jarvis MBE (left), at the opening of the DroneTex facility in Swindon. (UK MoD Crown copyright 2026)
UK opens Europe’s largest drone testing centre
The 545,000 square ft facility is quadruple the size of NATO’s Innovation Range for uncrewed systems in Latvia.
18 JUN 2026
By
Benjamin
Howe
Defence Journalist, DSEI Gateway
Europe’s largest drone testing facility has opened in the UK, as the country’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) seeks to accelerate the pace of uncrewed technology development to “weeks, not years”.
Named the ‘Uncrewed Systems Centre’, the facility – opened on 12 June – will “work with British companies” and support SMEs with drone development and field testing.
An announcement from the MoD highlights that the new facility will contribute to the UK’s efforts in emulating the rapid innovation cycles being observed in Ukraine, a country which “uses roughly 200,000 drones a month”.
The centre is based at the DroneTEX site in Swindon, which is 545,000 square ft – around 10 football pitches – in size.
This is approximately four times the size of indoor section of NATO’s Innovation Range for uncrewed systems in Sēlija, Latvia, which recently held large-scale drone trials.
UK Defence Secretary, Dan Jarvis MBE, opened the site alongside representatives from industry, stating that it will help to “ensure the UK embraces [the] technologies that are redefining warfare”.
UK Defence Secretary, Dan Jarvis MBE, opening the DroneTex facility in Swindon. (UK MoD Crown copyright 2026)
The opening coincided with Jarvis’ first full day in office following the resignation of his predecessor John Healey on 11 June over spending commitments tied to the delayed Defence Investment Plan.
Currently it is unclear how industry will go about accessing the site, but an MoD spokesperson told DSEI Gateway that the department “will be engaging closely with businesses to assess industry need and work out how the USC can best help.”
They added that the “Processes and mechanics for using the facility will follow this engagement, with the ambition to make it as simple and accessible as possible.”
However, the activities on the site will involve both an “all year round” and a competition-based element.
So far this year, the MoD says that UK Defence Innovation has invested GBP142 million to scale up the production of drones and counter-drone capabilities.
Benjamin
Howe
Defence Journalist, DSEI Gateway
Benjamin is a UK-based Journalist working for DSEI Gateway, having previously worked as a Content and Community Manager on Clarion's digital products.