On an airfield at the edge of the affluent Berkshire town of Maidenhead lies a firm making drones for Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia.
Malloy Aeronautics, a British company based in the town that lies on the bank of the Thames, has made no secret of its supply of weapons to the Ukrainian military.
Maidenhead is known for its 18th centry stone bridge, and house prices which verge on £600,000.
But it’s not the boats passing down the River Thames or the leafy and green surrounds of the area which may now catch the gaze of Vladimir Putin, it’s the drones shipped from that airfield on the edge of the town within the so-called M4 tech corridor.
Drones which have been used used by the Ukrainian military to target industrial and military targets in mainland Russia, hitting oil refineries and logistics hubs, which has contributed to fuel shortages as well as crippling the Russian economy to the tune of more than £35bn.
Although the UK Government announced a deal for British firm to produce drones for Ukraine in April, Ukrainian officials have now confirmed those made by companies such as the Maidenhead-based Malloy, have been used on attacks on Russia, The Sunday Times reports.
And British drones have already proven to have made a significant strategic victory when Ukraine employed the T-150 heavy-lift drone, manufactured by the Berkshire-based firm, for attacks during a two-month mission to destroy a vital logistics bridge in Kherson used by Russia to traverse the River Dnipro. The drones dropped a cumulative 1.5tons of explosives.
British drones helped destroy bridge along Dnipro river. (Photo: Ukraine’s 426th Unmanned Systems Regiment)The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence referred to the Malloy Aeronautics’ drones as “reliable” and a “workhorse” even in “challenging weather conditions”.
But now, there may be fears Russia could turn its sights on the company as part of its wider grey, hybrid war.
“The consequences could be that the Russians look upon any such production facilities as targets for sabotage, and the supply chains for disruption,” Matthew Savill, Director of Military Sciences at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told The i Paper.
“They should be ensuring they have decent security and protection against physical or cyber interference, and think about threats to their personnel and transportation.”
The i Paper understands rigorous and comprehensive measures are in place to protect the security of Malloy Aeronautics, as well as other UK defence industry companies, the details of which can not be disclosed publicly.
Cyber warfare and espionage
The government is understood to have helped these companies develop robust security measures against a number of different types of threats, including cyber attacks.
The cyber attack on the NHS in 2024 was linked to Russia, as was an attempt to gain intelligence through a creative attempt to infiltrate companies in 2025 when cyber criminals from Russia targeted defence workers with fake LinkedIn job adverts.
“Putin has said from the very beginning of this full-scale war that any attempt by Western countries or anybody else to weigh in on the side of the Ukrainians would be met with a catastrophic retaliation,” said Samuel Greene, Professor in Russian Politics at King’s College London.
“We’ve had a lot of rhetoric about if the West is going to do this, that makes the West fair game.”
While Russia is unlikely to launch a physical attack, professor Greene warned digital attacks aimed at causing “damage to infrastructure, systems, in some cases, to human beings” would be the preferred move in Putin’s playbook.
This paper previously reported how two suspected Russian spies slipped into the UK aboard commercial cargo vessels before visiting areas close to military bases and critical infrastructure. Counter-terror police were also alerted to a suspected spy flying a drone near a military base while staying in a shepherd’s hut in rural Dorset.
Arson attacks
Another covert pattern of behaviour associated with the Russian state is arson attacks, with the director of MI5, Ken McCallum, stating that Russian intelligence agents had carried out “arson, sabotage and more”.
Russia has been accused of being responsible for an arson plot on a Ukrainian-owned business in east London.
Poland also accused the Kremlin of being behind a massive fire which destroyed a shopping centre in Warsaw two years ago.
Shadow fleet maneuvers
In the first UK-led operation of its kind, the Smyrtos was boarded by Royal Marine Commandos on 14 June (Photo: Ministry of Defence)Putin has already shown some of his hand in terms of routes of retaliation that he is prepared to take and among this is the manoeuving of the so-called Shadow Fleet in the English Channel.
While the British seizure of a Russian vessel in June forced the Kremlin to reroute tankers carrying illicit Russian oil around the north of Scotland to avoid the English Channel, adding days to their voyages, the same fleet could be used to put pressure on the UK.
In March this year, a sanctioned oil tanker and alleged part of Russia’s shadow fleet, loitered above one of the UK’s key undersea cables connecting Ireland and Iceland. The UK has around 45 undersea cables that carry essential power supplies and vast quantities of data.
Russia has also previously threatened to seize British ships.
A compounding issue
The US and the UK previously restricted the use of long-range weapons to hit targets inside Russia.
Savill says news of the UK’s involvement in medium and long-range drone strikes are part of an on-going conversation around the UK’s military involvement that first gained momentum with the supply of Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine in 2023. This kit has a range of over 155 miles and was initially to be launched at Russian strongholds on Ukrainian soil, before this was relaxed and later used within Russia.
“There has been speculation for some time that the UK provided target drones for modification into missiles, and under Rishi Sunak they had announced previously – perhaps unwisely – that they were going to provide long-range strike weapons in addition to Storm Shadow,” he said, adding details of these deals have “become more specific over time”.
BAE, who own both Malloy Aeronautics said: “We deliver a range of capabilities into the UK MOD as part of the UK’s support to the defence of Ukraine.”
The MoD confirmed the UK’s support of Ukraine included sending more than 150,000 drones this year, as well as technology to undermine Russian air defences.
A spokesperson said: “Britain stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine and our support is unwavering. We are committed to providing the equipment Ukraine needs to defend itself against Putin’s illegal invasion… The UK will stand by Ukraine until it wins.”
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