Shares of BAE Systems, Rheinmetall, Saab AB and Leonardo S.p.A. traded higher on Friday after the UK government revealed a new air-defense assistance package for Ukraine valued at more than a3500 million.
The announcement, made as Defense Secretary John Healey co-chaired the 33rd meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at NATO, laid out several coordinated elements intended to increase Ukraine's air-defense capacity.
Key components include a direct UK contribution of a3150 million to the NATO Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL). That initiative coordinates purchases of air-defense interceptors for Ukraine and involves NATO arranging deliveries of defense equipment from the United States.
In addition to the PURL funding, the UK will supply an extra 1,000 Lightweight Multirole Missiles that are manufactured in Belfast. The government characterized the related a3390 million deal as building on collaboration between UK and Ukrainian industry, with measures to transfer production and provide support for Rapid Ranger launchers and associated command-and-control vehicles to Ukraine.
Beyond those items, officials said that in the coming months the UK will push further matériel into Ukraine through the Air Defense Consortium, delivering a further 1,200 air-defense missiles and 200,000 rounds of artillery ammunition.
"As we approach the fifth year of Putins full scale invasion, the UK and our allies are more committed than ever to supporting Ukraine," Healey said in a statement.
The package announced on Thursday combines direct procurement funding, supplier deliveries, and industrial cooperation intended to both bolster Ukraine's immediate defensive capabilities and expand local production and support infrastructure.
Market reaction on Friday reflected investor attention on companies tied to air-defense and munitions manufacturing, with the named defense contractors trading higher following the news.
Details provided by the government emphasize coordination through NATO channels as well as targeted bilateral industrial arrangements, with further shipments scheduled to arrive over the coming months.
Because the announcement spans funding, shipment commitments, and the transfer of production support, it touches multiple operational areas: procurement coordination via NATO, supplier production in the UK, and prospective in-country support for Ukrainian systems.