UK soldiers could get paragliders to drop behind enemy lines

British soldiers could soon be equipped with backpack‑sized powered paragliders that allow them to infiltrate up to 200 miles behind enemy lines without needing to be dropped from aircraft. Manufacturer Blakcro, based in Wiltshire, says the gliders can be assembled in eight minutes and launched on foot. They are capable of carrying body armour, night‑vision equipment and weapon mounts. The Ministry of Defence is spending £6 million on the system, with trials scheduled to begin in the coming months. Defence Minister Luke Pollard said the authorities was gathering a "more resilient, homegrown defence proviso concatenation and ensuring our equipped forces person the pioneering instrumentality that tin springiness them the borderline connected the battlefield". The titanium‑framed machines are described by the maker as harder to detect by radar or sound than conventional aircraft, enabling covert entry into hostile territory. The technology is already in use by other NATO member countries. Blakcro employs 11 people, was founded in 2023 and has received government support for two other projects. The firm also works with the US Department of Defense. The government says it wants to increase the proportion of UK‑made defence equipment and bring smaller companies into the supply chain. Chancellor John Healey is under pressure to raise defence spending after resigning from Sir Keir Starmer’s government in protest over its plans. As defence secretary he accused Starmer’s administration of lacking a clear timetable to reach the target of spending 3 % of the UK’s national income on defence. Healey is expected to increase spending further but will not set out specific plans in his first Budget in October. Instead, a revised defence strategy will be published as part of a wider spending review in the spring. A government spokesperson said: "The archetypal work of authorities is to support its citizens safe. "The premier curate and chancellor are committed to afloat backing the defence concern plan. "At the spending reappraisal we volition acceptable retired a pathway to conscionable our NATO committedness of 3.5% of GDP connected defence by 2035 and volition acceptable a people day to deed 3% connected that path."