The Warzone/The Drive: The UK Has Spent Nearly 15 Years Developing Watchkeeper Drones It Says Aren't Safe to Fly
The British Army has more than 50 of the unmanned aircraft, but authorities say they still aren't reliable enough even for routine drills.
After more than a decade of development, the U.K. Ministry of Defense has acknowledged that its Watchkeeper WK450 drones have yet to receive a full “release to service” certification. This means that officials have not yet deemed the aircraft safe enough to operate regularly in training exercises, let alone actual operations, and it’s not clear when they might be ready routine duties.
On Jan. 29, 2018, Permanent Secretary Stephen Lovegrove, the U.K. Ministry of Defense’s chief civilian administrator, revealed the latest setbacks in a letter to the head of the Public Accounts Committee within the country’s parliament. The memo appeared online earlier in March 2018 and a report by Jane’s 360 called it an “unprecedented move” on the part of the Secretary. The United Kingdom first announced the project in 2005 and the British Army now has a fleet of approximately 52 of the unmanned aircraft, which carry a sensor turret with electro-optical and infrared full motion video cameras and synthetic aperture imaging radar with a ground moving target indicator function.
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WNU Editior: After 15 years of trying .... and failing .... it is time to throw in the towel and start something new.
