The U.K. MoD has decided to retire the 14-year-old Watchkeeper UAV from service as an “outdated military capability”.
The U.K. MoD’s “Six outdated military capabilities” will be phased out of service by March 2025 to save roughly £500 million for new investments, including the WK450 Watchkeeper UAV.
The Army has used the unarmed UAV based on the Israeli Hermes 450 for ISTAR missions for 14 years, with 46 units in service.
The change of battlefield scene that the U.K. Army is likely to encounter was given because the presence of more capable air defence assets proliferation makes it harder for an unarmed UAV of Watchkeeper’s class to survive.
Aerospace Global News reported that Labour MP Kevan Jones gave the example of smaller and cheaper UAVs regularly used in Ukraine for ISTAR to make sense of replacing Watchkeeper.
Despite the apparent opportunity of distributing smaller UAVs in large numbers, there is a clear difference in sensor capabilities between these types and tactical/MALE/HALE UAVs. Thus, Protector RG Mk1, a derivative of the U.S.-made MQ-9B SkyGuardian HALE UCAV, appears unaffected.
Protector RG Mk1’s provision for armament, including Brimstone air-to-surface missiles, might address the vulnerability to air defence to a degree. With a range of 40 km, it out-ranges short-range and some medium-range air defence systems.
U.K. Ditches Watchkeeper UAV for New Options
