By Liza Helps, Property Editor, Logistics Matters

THE MOD has taken a 15-year lease on Panattoni’s S545 unit on the former Honda plant site in Swindon. The cross dock unit totals 545,414 ft2 of Grade-A industrial and logistics space with a 21m clear internal height and a 4.3 MVA power supply. It has been built to Net Zero Carbon standards, and targets BREEAM Outstanding and EPC A ratings.

The launch excluded press following last week’s resignations by Defence Minister John Healey and Armed Forces minister Al Carns, caused by the Government’s failure to follow up on last year’s Strategic Defence Review with adequate funding and prompt publication of a Defence Investment Plan.

The facility was constructed on a design and build contract by McLaren Construction (Midlands & North) sand reached practical completion earlier this year. The unit includes two storeys of office accommodation and a decked car park, along with all associated site and external works including roads, service yards, car parking, hard and soft landscaping, drainage and building services.

Known as the DroneTEX the facility will house the Uncrewed Systems Centre which will help the UK’s Armed Forces stay at the leading edge of innovation and take advantage of constantly evolving technologies.

As the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine show, drones are rapidly reshaping warfare, with cheap systems destroying high value targets and innovation cycles measured in weeks, not years. Ukraine uses roughly 200,000 drones a month and there were 700 drones launched per day at the height of conflict in Iran.

It will be the UK’s focal point for the development and testing of the latest drone technology and drive collaboration with industry, allies and partners. 

At the opening of the USC on Friday last week – which was closed to the press  at short notice – newly appointed Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis MP said: “The character of warfare is changing, and it is changing fast. From Ukraine to the Middle East, we are seeing right now how uncrewed systems are rapidly evolving and reshaping conflicts – on land, in the air and at sea.

“Our new DroneTEX facility at the heart of our Uncrewed Systems Centre is Europe’s largest drone test and development facility, and will help us ensure the UK embraces technologies that are redefining warfare.

“Where once new technology could take years from inception to reaching our Armed Forces, we will now be able to develop and field new tech in a matter of weeks – because in this new era, those who innovate fastest will win.

“This state-of-the-art centre will work with British companies, supporting SMEs, unlocking exports and creating high-skilled jobs.

“It will harness the power of data and digital integration as the UK embraces AI and autonomy, including through our new Task Force RAID (Rapid AI Delivery) which the Prime Minister and Chief of the Defence Staff announced earlier this week.”

The Strategic Defence Review announced a major increase in autonomy investment of £2 billion in this parliament, taking total defence investment in autonomous systems to £4 billion.

Scale up production of drones and anti-drone weapons

The MOD has spent over £450 million on uncrewed systems, including £300 million on their research and development since July 2024. In the last year, UK Defence Innovation has injected over £142 million in rapid investment to scale up production of drones and anti-drone weapons.

The indoor testing space will allow year rounf evaluationof new drone systems without weather or airspace restrictions.

The facility will be four times larger than NATO’s small tactical drone testing centre in Latvia, making it the biggest indoor site of its kind in Europe. 

Several drone manufacturers have established operations in and around Swindon in anticipation of increased Government investment.

In a report by the Swindon Advertiser local MP Will Stone, who worked with the MOD, Panattoni and Swindon Council to secure the project, said: “Having the largest uncrewed testing facility in Europe based in Swindon will only increase investment in the town.”

The project team for the facility comprised UMC Architects as the architect, KAM Project Consultants as the quantity surveyor, and BWB Consulting as the structural and civil engineer. Construction CDM Services was appointed as the principal designer, with C3 Design Approvals overseeing building control.

Joint letting agents at Panattoni Park Swindon are DTRE and Savills. Montagu Evans acted for the Ministry of Defence.