Category: Protector drone

RAF’s new armed drone given approval to fly freely over UK  

Chris Cole
Protector RG1 flying over RAF Waddington. Crown Copyright.

The UK’s Military Aviation Authority (MAA) has issued ‘Military Type Certification’ to the UK’s new ‘Protector’ armed drone, meaning that it is now free to fly within UK airspace, including over populated areas.

Previously, for safety reasons, Protector and other large uncrewed systems such as the Protector’s predecessor, the Reaper, were only allowed to fly in segregated airspace, with other aircraft excluded.  Although large military drones are spreading rapidly, as Drone Wars has documented they continue to tumble out of the skies for a whole variety of reasons.

The UK is the first country to certify a large drone to fly freely in unsegregated airspace and General Atomics, the manufacturer of the drone – which they call MQ-9B SkyGuardian rather than UK designation of ‘Protector RG1’– were delighted as it has huge implications for their sales.  The company’s press release called it “a seminal achievement.”  A key element of the  approval, alongside “rigorous testing”, was apparently the ‘rigid separation’ of mission software from flight critical software.

Protector flights in the UK

The Protector has been undertaking a short series of test flights around RAF Waddington, the home of UK drone warfare, over the past few weeks. The Aviationist noted two tests in the past week which were of the longest duration so far, including one which saw the drone fly to RAF Marham before taking off and returning to Waddington.  RAF Marham is the nominated diversion airfield for the drone.

General Atomics reported that 10 of the 16 Protector drones ordered had now been delivered to the UK but it is not clear if these are all at RAF Waddington  as previous drones that have ‘been delivered’ to the RAF remained in the US for testing and trials.  The UK is increasingly secretive about its drone operations and exact details about when Protector is to come into service have been given vaguely as ‘by the end of 2025’.  Reaper is also expected to exit service by the end of the year.

Protector test and training flights are now likely to expand both in number and in range, including flights to launch weapons at Holbeach Air Weapons Range, near Boston in The Wash. Protector carries the Paveway IV guided bomb and Brimstone 3 missiles.

The Ministry of Defence has always been clear that Protector will also be available to support counter-terrorism operations within the UK and undertake Military Aid to Civilian Authorities (MACA) tasks such as assisting HM Coastguard with search and rescue missions.  Read more →

RAF’s new armed drones begin test and training flights over UK

Chris Cole
Protector drone flying over RAF Waddington in February 2025
The UK’s new ‘Protector’ drone flying over RAF Waddington in Feb 2025. Credit: MoD

The RAF announced that its new armed drone, called SkyGuardian by other users but dubbed ‘The Protector’ by the UK, has begun regular test and training flights in the UK. At the same time, the UK has exercised an option to extend the life of its current Reaper drone fleet which were supposed to transition our of service by early 2024.

The UK ordered up to 26 new ‘Protector’ drones in October 2015 to replace the UK’s current fleet of armed Reaper drones. The new drones were supposed to be in service by 2018 but long delays and cost overruns – estimated to be more than £500m – has dogged the programme.  The MoD confirmed that four Protector drones have now been delivered to the UK.

Protector differs from its predecessor in that it can carry more weapons and fly further and for longer.  However the UK argues that the main advantage of the new drone is that it was built to standards that allowed it to be flown in civil airspace alongside other aircraft.

Rather than be based overseas as the UK’s current fleet of armed drones are, the new drone will be based at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire and deploy directly for overseas operations from there.

However, the technology that allows uncrewed aircraft to supposedly fly safely in the same airspace as other aircraft has not yet been proved and current Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) rules means the drone must fly in segregated airspace, away from other aircraft.

Drone Wars has long argued that while the use of military armed drones has normalised, they continue to crash at a significant rate for a whole variety of reasons.

General Atomics advert showing a mock-up of the Protector drone flying over London.
General Atomics advert portraying a Protector drone flying over London.

Significantly, the new drone has been brought in with the understanding that it can also be used at times of crisis for operations within the UK under Military Aid to Civil Authorities (MACA) rules.  It is perhaps likely then that at a time of crisis, the UK’s armed drone could be deployed operationally over the UK.

Since 2023, the MoD has refused to disclose details of UK Reaper flights even thought it has done so previously for more than a decade.  It is likely that similar secrecy will surround Protector drone flights and sorties not only if they are deployed overseas but also if deployed within the UK.

New ‘Protector’ armed drones to begin flying in UK – Join the protest on 13 November

Chris Cole

 

The UK’s new armed drones – known as  ‘SkyGuardian’ internationally, but renamed ‘Protector’ by the UK –  will begin test flights in the UK next month after the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) agreed to new airspace rules around RAF Waddington.  The MoD will undertake “a small number of time-critical proving flights” of the new drone ahead of a longer test and training programme due to begin in late 2023/early 2024.

The first of an initial batch of sixteen MQ-9B SkyGuardian was flown into RAF Waddington on-board a transport aircraft on 30 September.

According to Jane’s:

“While the Protector fleet will be based at and operated from RAF Waddington, it will spend most of its time overseas in the same manner as the Reaper fleet. A future operational scenario could see the Protector ferry itself from RAF Waddington to a location in the Middle East or Sub-Saharan Africa, arriving in theatre to be met by a team that would arm and prep it for its mission.”

The UK is replacing its fleet of ten Reaper drones with up to 26 of the new ‘Protector’ drones.  The newer drone has further range and longer endurance, as well as being capable of carrying more weapons.  It is also capable of autonomous take-off and landing.

Why we continue to challenge the use of armed drones

As we have argued over the past decade, while remote-controlled drones are presented as enabling ‘pinpoint’ accurate air strikes which enable us to ‘take out’ bad guys without risk to our own forces, the reality is somewhat different. While the UK continues to claim that only one civilian was killed in the thousands of British air and drone strikes in Iraq and Syria, journalists and casualty recording organisations have reported large numbers of civilian casualties from US and UK air strikes.  In addition, as they can be deployed with no or few boots on the ground, making it much easier for political leaders to choose to use armed force.

Armed drones have also enabled a huge increase in so-called ‘targeted killing’ including killing of individuals far from battle zone.  While some argue that it the policy of targeted killing that is problematic, it is hard to deny that the practice has hugely increased with the advent of armed drones. While the US is at the forefront of such operations, the UK too has used its drones to carry out a number of such killings including the killing of a suspected ISIS leader in Syria in December 2022.  Read more →

Latest update shows UK drones spreading across air, land and sea

Chris Cole

We’ve updated our directory of current UK aerial drones and drone development programmes and wanted to highlight that, while drones have been mainly the preserve of the Air Force, they are now increasingly being acquired and used by the British Army and the Royal Navy.  Meanwhile, although the MoD is keen to point to the imminent arrival of its new armed drone, which they have dubbed ‘The Protector’, problems lie ahead.

Protector problems ahead

The replacement for the UK’s Reaper drone – dubbed ‘the Protector’ by the UK but called SkyGuardian by the manufacturer (and everyone else really) –  is supposed to be in service by mid-2024.  While the first aircraft from the production line has been delivered to the RAF it remains in the US for on-going testing and training.  However, two significant problems need to be addressed over the next 18 months before these drones become operational.

Firstly, recruitment and retention of personnel to operate the drones has been an on-going problem as Sir Stephen Lovegrove, then MoD permanent secretary, told the Commons public accounts committee in 2020.  This is likely to be even more so now as crews will be based permanently in Lincoln rather than having the option of being deployed to the sunnier climes of Las Vegas, after the UK shut down its US-based drone operations.

General Atomics promotional graphic visualising Protector flying over London

The RAF partly overcame recruitment issues by drafting in Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) pilots.  As the RAAF  was set to purchase SkyGuardian drones it made sense to the RAAF to send pilots to operate UK armed drones as they would then get training and experience of using these systems before their drones arrived in Australia.  However in April 2022, Australia abruptly cancelled its planned purchase of SkyGuardian drones due to budget problems following the setting up of AUKUS alliance and the plan to build new nuclear submarines.  Given this, it seems likely the RAAF will not be so keen to provide personnel for the UK’s drone programme for much longer. Read more →

Public consultation on allowing armed drones to fly from RAF Waddington opened – have your say!

Chris Cole
Above us only….drones?

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has formally opened a public consultation on the Ministry of Defence (MoD) proposal to change airspace regulations around RAF Waddington to allow armed Protector drones to operate from the base from 2023. In short, these changes will put in place  a ‘danger area’ around Waddington to allow the drones to take-off and land.

Currently the UK’s fleet of armed Reaper drones are not permitted to fly within the UK as they were not built to appropriate standards.  However the MoD argues that its new drone – called SkyGuardian by the manufacturer but labelled ‘Protector’ by the MoD – has been built to stricter construction standards that should allow it to be certified to fly within UK airspace. Separate from the construction issue is the very significant question as to whether large drones (military or otherwise) can fly safely in airspace alongside other aircraft. Drone advocates argue this can be done though using electronic ‘Detect and Avoid’ (DAA) equipment but this is as yet largely untried and untested.

Map of potentially affected area from CAA website

While this consultation is therefore limited in that it is focuses only on specific airspace changes around Waddington rather than wider questions about the safety of opening UK airspace to large drones, we would urge those concerned about these developments to respond via the dedicated webpage.  All members of the public are invited to respond and it should only take a few minutes.  The consultation is open until 30 November.  Read more →

On the horizon: drone spies coming to UK skies

Tim Street
SkyGuardian flight trials over the UK in September 2021

In the last few months Drone Wars and UK Drone Watch have organised protests outside RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire and RAF Lossiemouth in North East Scotland. We were protesting the decision to allow US arms manufacturer General Atomics to conduct experimental flights of their SkyGuardian drone in UK airspace. SkyGuardian is a prototype of the UK’s new armed drone, named Protector, which will replace the UK’s current Reaper armed drone fleet in 2024. As we have shown, the prospect of such large drones regularly flying in UK airspace raises significant safety and accountability concerns.

In response to our actions, the Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace, and the Chief of the Air Staff, Sir Mike Wigston, went out of their way to insist that the presence of SkyGuardian in the UK was innocuous. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which manages British airspace, described SkyGuardian as a “civilian aircraft” and approved it to fly in the UK. However, dig a little deeper and the dangers posed by these flights become clear. Drones, which can provide a constant presence and are relatively economical to fly, are likely to be increasingly used for domestic surveillance by state and private operators. Rising drone surveillance poses threats to human rights, privacy and data protection. Strong regulation of such operations is therefore essential to overcome secrecy and prevent abuses of power.  Read more →