In a picturesque cathedral city in Wiltshire, local residents are concerned they could end up on the Kremlin’s radar – again.
Eight years after a local woman lost her life as a result of a nerve agent attack by Russian intelligence agents in Salisbury, a new drone manufacturer supplying the Ukrainian military is seeking to build its new headquarters on the outskirts of the city.
Plans for a 6,968 sqm headquarters for Callen-Lenz, a company which specialises in drone development, incorporating “offices, research and development and warehousing”, which would employ up to 500 staff, are under consideration by Wiltshire Council.
Wiltshire is already the drone manufacturing capital of Britain, home to multiple manufacturers based in Swindon, around 30 miles north of Salisbury – in part because of the availability of commercial property following the closure of a large Honda site. The county is also home to Porton Down, the UK’s science and defence technology hub.
Callen-Lenz manufactures the Nyan drone, which its website describes as offering “deep strike penetration and target effect within a highly contested environment”.
The Nyan has been used by Ukraine for its attacks on Russian oil refineries, logistics centres and retail warehouses, sparking fury across nationalist Russian news outlets.
Callen-Lenz has not commented on reports that the Nyan is among the British-made drones used for Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russian territory, but the Russian embassy in London accused the UK of “deliberately opting for an escalation of the Ukraine crisis”.
“London’s actions will inevitably carry consequences for which it will have to answer,” a statement added. “The deeper its involvement in the conflict and the greater its support for Kyiv’s terrorist machinery, the higher the price it will pay.”
Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said Russia had long accused the UK of extensive support for Ukraine and sought to wreak revenge on Kyiv’s allies.
But he said the consequence of British drone use “could be that the Russians look upon any such production facilities as targets for sabotage, and the supply chains for disruption”.
Savill added: “The [drone companies] should be ensuring they have decent security and protection against physical or cyber interference, and think about threats to their personnel and transportation.”
A CGI image of the planned new Callen-Lenz facility at High Post outside Salisbury (Photo: Spitfire Innovation Park)Locals concerned about traffic, light pollution and Russia
After the planning application for the new Callen-Lenz facility a few miles outside Salisbury was lodged in March, local residents responding to a public consultation primarily raised concerns about the impact on traffic, light pollution, and the loss of agricultural land and protected bird habitats.
But following Russia’s latest threats, local parish councils have lodged new objections, including their security concerns.
“It should surely be a national and local concern that weapons manufacturers [that can be] clearly identified by a hostile nation are located within seriously secure locations, not in our peaceful, open countryside,” says a document written on behalf of several parish councils representing the residents of the villages and hamlets in the area.
Peter Curtis, a member of the Joint Parish Councils, told The i Paper that locals keenly remember the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal in the 2018 Salisbury novichok attack.
While Skripal and his daughter survived the initial attack, it later caused the death of local mother Dawn Sturgess after her partner unwittingly gave her a discarded bottle of Novichok, which had been disguised as Nina Ricci perfume.
“The people of Salisbury know firsthand that Russian intentions of revenge are very real,” Curtis said. “Putin acts very much in this way, in the sort of mafioso sending of messages.”
Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after being poisoned by the Russian nerve agent Novichok (Photo: Metropolitan Police/PA)The plans for Callen-Lenz’s new facility say that security is “vitally important” and that access would be restricted with a dedicated “security pavilion”.
But Curtis said local worries were heightened by the fact it would sit next to a pre-existing factory that makes explosive “countermeasures” for defence against missile attacks.
On its website, Chemring says it plays a “vital role…in Nato’s defence industrial base” and has also been awarded contracts for the British armed forces.
“If Callen-Lenz becomes a Russian target then it brings into question the wisdom of it being located next to the Chemring site,” the Joint Parish Councils planning consultation response said.
“The Government might wish to locate defence establishments should be located within existing secure sites.”
A spokesperson for BAE Systems, which owns Callen-Lenz, would not comment on the Nyan’s reported use against Russia, but said that the company “delivers a range of capabilities into the UK Ministry of Defence as part of the UK’s support to the defence of Ukraine”.
“Callen-Lenz has a long-established presence in the region, providing high-quality jobs,” a statement added. “The proposed new development provides the opportunity for the next phase of our presence in Wiltshire.”
Curtis said that local residents were not “nimbys” and would support the Callen-Lenz facility if it was “in the right place”.
Business has been booming for the industry following Russia’s full-scale invasion of 2022, with drone warfare becoming a key feature of the ongoing war.
Planning documents did not directly refer to the conflict, but Callen-Lenz said it was planning to double its current workforce due to “the global geo-political instabilities faced in recent years”, while Chemring said it was facing “unprecedented demand”.
Dr Marina Miron, a drone warfare expert at the Defence Studies Department at King’s College London, said the number of drones required by Ukraine was rising because of changing tactics.
“If we look at the amount of drones used in one strike – two years ago, three years ago, we would be talking about maybe 20 drones, 50 drones,” she said. “Now we’re talking about 600 drones in one strike.”
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