Ukraine’s Drone Tech Could Safeguard the Hormuz Strait

Britain says Ukraine can help keep the vital oil route in the Strait of Hormuz safe. The country’s advanced drones are praised as some of the best worldwide. The UK has brought together more than 30 nations to discuss reopening the strait after Iran blocked it following attacks by the US and Israel. Ukraine has joined these talks, sharing four years of experience fighting Russia. Over 200 Ukrainian experts are already in the Middle East, shooting down Iranian long‑range Shahed drones. Al Carns, a former British army colonel and current MP, visited Kyiv to show support. He highlighted Ukraine’s technology as useful against drones all the way to the Hormuz region.Carns also said the UK still sees NATO as its security backbone, despite past tensions over the Iran conflict. The British government funds, trains and supplies Ukraine with weapons. In return, it hopes to learn from Kyiv’s innovations in drones, data and AI. “It is a revolution in military affairs, ” Carns said. The UK’s 10‑year defence plan will soon include these advances, he added. Ukraine wants to export its cutting‑edge tech quickly before other nations catch up. It issued its first licences in February, but some industry leaders worry the process is slow. The UK hosts a plant that began producing Ukrainian interceptor drones in February, and another company makes the Magura sea drone.