Skyeton Prevail Solutions, the Anglo-Ukrainian joint venture, has successfully validated its multi-role Raybird Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) with its deployment as part of the British Army’s recent Iron Titan exercise across the Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA).
The joint venture was established to fast-track the volume manufacture and supply of its ready-now drone for the UK military. The Raybird is a battle-proven system from Skyeton Group, headquartered in Kyiv, which formed a joint venture with British defence and security company Prevail Partners on July 2 this year.
During the exercise, the system demonstrated the type of stealth, endurance, and situational awareness increasingly central to modern battlefield operations. Launched from cold in under 25 minutes, the Raybird operated at a 10km reach and 4,000ft altitude. It identified and verified multiple high-priority targets while remaining undetected, confirming its merits as an ISTAR platform. The UAS has seen extensive use in Ukraine, completing tens of thousands of missions, totalling more than 350,000 combat hours with attrition rates of less than 10%.
The UK exercise deployment is a precursor to sovereign UK manufacturing, which is the core aim of Skyeton Prevail Solutions. The joint venture seeks to bring ready-now UAS technology to UK Armed Forces consistent with the aims and ambitions of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), while also generating skilled employment in the UK along with significant direct economic contributions from Raybird system exports.
Justin Hedges OBE, Chairman of Prevail Partners, said, “There was little doubt that Raybird would prove out its credentials which have been so effectively demonstrated in Ukraine. But perhaps more importantly, this was the first milestone in embedding it as a sovereign UK proposition.”
Mr. Hedges added, “Our next step is finalising the UK manufacturing plan to respond to the ambition in the SDR to bring ready-now and Ukraine-informed technology from agile SMEs within easy reach of the UK Armed Forces.”
