Zelenskyy meets new UK PM Burnham as defense tech transfers reshape Europe’s security landscape

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy touched down in Britain on July 27 to meet newly appointed Prime Minister Andy Burnham, becoming the first foreign leader to visit Burnham since he took office roughly a week earlier. The agenda wasn’t trade deals or climate pledges. It was electronic warfare jamming systems and drone defense technology. The centerpiece of the discussion was the UK’s transfer of intellectual property for a system called “Stone Cloak,” an electronic warfare device designed to jam Russian air defenses and protect Ukrainian drones. Thousands of these devices have already been fitted to drones operating in Ukraine, and the IP transfer is intended to let Kyiv mass-produce them domestically. Defense tech takes center stage More than 200 Ukrainian military personnel are currently training in Britain, focused on Black Sea operations. Burnham used the meeting to reaffirm what he called the UK’s steadfast support for Ukraine. The messaging was deliberate: a brand-new prime minister choosing defense continuity as his first major foreign policy signal. The Stone Cloak system itself represents a particularly interesting category of military aid. Rather than simply shippin...