The Centre’s Catalysts series shines a light on the diverse organisations, from tenants and innovators to collaborators and members, who fuel our ecosystem here at iAero.
We explore the unique capabilities and expertise they bring, demonstrating the collective power that makes our Centre a hub of opportunity and growth. Their success is our success, and their contributions are the reason to join our vibrant community and support the growth of the aerospace, advanced manufacturing and engineering sectors in Somerset.
Next in the series is Volander.
Established in 2022 by Ross Drinkwater MBE, Volander is a veteran-led, award-winning producer of new technologies to enhance autonomous platforms for defence use. Based across Southern England, the company works alongside industry giants like Leonardo UK and the UK Ministry of Defence to solve the most pressing challenges in this sector.
By bridging the gap between cutting-edge R&D and rapid, scalable deployment, the team is ensuring the UK remains at the forefront of the drone revolution.
Key Projects & Successes
Volander provides a suite of sovereign technologies designed for the modern battlespace:
- High-resolution imaging systems and pioneering optics engineered specifically for AI-driven wide-area search and targeting on ground, maritime and air vehicles.
- Low cost electronics produced at scale for Uncrewed Vehicles.
- Electromagnetic UAS launch system, which offers silent and repeatable launches in seconds rather than minutes. It is unique in its ability of rapid configuration for launching different drones types.
Project Sovereign Hunter
In a landmark achievement for British engineering, the Defence AI Centre recently recognised the collaboration between Volander and Leonardo UK.
In March 2026, Leonardo was awarded Partnership of the Year for their work on Sovereign Hunter alongside Volander, Faculty AI, and Applied AGI. The challenge was to prove a UK-sovereign, distributed autonomous control system capable of coordinating multiple UAS to execute complex missions.
Within six months, the team moved from contract to live trial in just six months and demonstrated Level-4 autonomy that is ITAR-free and payload-agnostic.
The collaborative effort successfully executed a live demonstration where a single operator defined a mission, and multiple UAS collaborated via a UK-sovereign stack to Find, Fix, Track, Target, Engage, and Assess (F2T2EA) targets.
Furthermore, the systems proved they could continue the mission even during injected signal loss or hardware failure.
Founder & CEO Ross Drinkwater MBE, said: “This trial has seen all parties working together at a very fast pace to both develop and integrate a multitude of new British-made technologies. This project timeline demanded quick progress concurrently on multiple technical areas… Leonardo and the other partners pulled in the same direction throughout to deliver working demonstrations of multiple sovereign technologies throughout the trial.”
Volander and iAero
For Volander iAero provides state-of-the-art facilities in a key geographical location for the industry by which the company operates.
Richard Warner, Chief Operating Officer at Volander, said: “The collaborative ecosystem helps accelerate the development, testing, and integration of cutting-edge autonomous technologies in real-world environments. The benefit from access to industry networks, research partnerships, and innovation opportunities that the centre facilitates cannot be understated.”
For further information on Sovereign Hunter, please here: https://uk.leonardo.com/en/sovereign-hunter