• Swindon & Wiltshire Manufacturing
• Monday July 28 2025

Military drone manufacturing plant to create 100 jobs in Swindon

A German tech firm plans to open a military drone factory in Swindon, creating more than 100 100 skilled jobs and boosting the region’s status as the UK’s lead location for next-generation defence manufacturing.

Stark, which makes unmanned weapon systems for NATO, is to open the 40,000 sq ft factory in the town. It will be its first outside Germany.

Swindon North MP MP Will Stone said: “I’m proud to be working alongside Tark to bring defence manufacturing back to Swindon – a town with a proud military legacy and key producer of the iconic Supermarine Spitfire.

“It’s fitting that defence is returning to our town.

“This is the direction of travel: creating high-skilled, well-paid jobs and putting Swindon back at the heart of Britain’s industrial future.

“This is just the start with more businesses to follow.”

Mike Armstrong, managing director of Stark UK, said both the UK and Germany were “world-leaders in new technology” and the expansion will help “define the battlefields of the future”.

“We need rapid and scalable production to protect our people, defend our sovereignty and deter aggression. That means resilient supply chains which stretch across Europe,” he said.

The company said its flagship loitering munition system Virtus, which has vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capabilities, has a strike radius of up to 100km (62 miles) and a 5kg weapons payload.

The company is already recruiting for staff, including a ‘Ukraine In-Country Delivery Manager’ and engineers at multiple levels.

Latest: Flyby Technology to create 300 jobs in Swindon, ‘drone manufacturing hub of the UK’