The United Kingdom is committed to ensuring the British armed forces are equipped with the unmanned aerial vehicle capabilities they will need in the coming years.
Lt. Gen. Robert Magowan, deputy chief of the Defence Staff (Military Capability) at the Ministry of Defence, made the remarks to the UK Defence Committee on Dec. 17. He noted that the Watchkeeper drone program, which ended in the latest wave of U.K. defense cuts, no longer meets the requirements of the modern battlefield. The statement aligns with Defense Secretary John Healey’s remarks to Parliament in November that technology developments have overrun the Watchkeeper’s capabilities.
“We are working really hard with the [British] Army and ensuring they’re funded to deliver the sorts of drone capability in 2025 to replace the drone [Watchkeeper] that’s being retired,” Magowan said. However, the official declined to provide additional information on the possible replacement.
The Watchkeeper program faced several challenges in recent years. The UAV fleet was reported to have experienced delayed rollouts, cost overruns and operational crashes. The service rarely used them since an Afghanistan deployment in 2014.
in February, the British government launched a new strategy to accelerate the development of its armed forces’ drone capabilities. The U.K. Defence Drone Strategy is a $5.71 billion investment over the next decade to support UAV experimentation, testing and evaluation.