Britain is to equip its army with surveillance drones already proven on the battlefield in Ukraine under a deal worth up to £400mn, as the Ministry of Defence seeks to replace the troubled Watchkeeper programme and improve troops’ ability to identify threats.
The contract with Tekever will initially provide six AR5 drones, with the fleet potentially expanding to 24 aircraft by 2029. The AR5 can carry up to 50kg of cameras and sensors and is designed to conduct surveillance over longer distances and periods.
A separate £16mn programme is supplying 1,025 smaller drones, including aircraft weighing less than 250g and fitted with infrared cameras for night operations.
The two programmes are intended to give commanders greater visibility of the battlefield while allowing troops to identify threats before coming into contact with them. The smaller systems will provide real-time intelligence closer to the frontline, while the AR5 will undertake longer-range surveillance.
The AR5 will be manufactured at a new factory in Swindon. The government said the contract would support more than 1,000 highly skilled jobs across Tekever’s UK operations by 2030.
The investment marks a significant shift from the Army’s experience with Watchkeeper, a £1.35bn surveillance programme that was intended to transform battlefield reconnaissance but was eventually abandoned after years of delays, crashes and technical difficulties.
The programme’s cost rose from an initial £700mn, while eight of 54 aircraft were lost in crashes. Difficulties operating in poor British weather became a persistent problem, while shortages of trained pilots and a development process involving 1,910 individual requirements added to the programme’s complexity.
The contrast has become more significant as the war in Ukraine has demonstrated the military value of relatively inexpensive unmanned systems.
Luke Pollard, defence readiness and industry minister, said: “Our soldiers deserve the best technology, and that’s what we’re delivering. From small drones giving troops eyes on the enemy, to the AR5 offering commanders better intelligence over the battlefield, we’re transforming the Army’s ability to see, understand and act first.
“This is defence procurement that backs British industry, creates skilled jobs and keeps our Armed Forces ahead of our adversaries.”
Deliveries of the smaller systems are nearing completion. They include 245 FOXE-NATO drones from Evolve Dynamics, 670 Skydio X10 INTL drones supplied by Marlborough Communications and 110 SONORA training drones provided by Brigantes Consulting and Harmattan AI.
Karl Brew, managing director of Tekever UK, said: “We are proud to be delivering the AR5 to the British Army at this critical moment for national security. This investment allows us to grow our UK operations, create hundreds of skilled jobs and bring cutting-edge surveillance technology, proven on the battlefield in Ukraine, into service with British forces.”
The smaller drone programme forms part of Project Rapstone, which aims to accelerate the movement of technology from industry to the frontline and double the Army’s fighting power by 2027.
Ukraine has demonstrated how drones can expose troop movements, direct artillery and threaten vehicles and logistics at relatively low cost, making battlefield surveillance an increasingly central component of modern military operations.
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