A series of written questions posed by James Cartlidge, Conservative MP for South Suffolk, have shed light on the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) plans for the replacement of the Watchkeeper Mk 1 unmanned aerial system (UAS), set to retire in March 2025.
Luke Pollard, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence, provided detailed responses outlining the future trajectory for the Army’s Deep Find capability and the implications for personnel and allied collaboration.
Pollard confirmed that the MOD plans to procure a modern Land Tactical Deep Find (LTDF) capability to replace the 14-year-old Watchkeeper system. This replacement will incorporate lessons learned from the conflict in Ukraine and utilise emerging technologies to ensure it is suited for NATO’s frontline needs.
“The Army will procure a modern Land Tactical Deep Find (LTDF) capability to replace the 14 years old Watchkeeper Mk 1 capability following its retirement from March 2025,” Pollard stated.
The LTDF system aims to enhance the Army’s ability to deliver actionable intelligence and reconnaissance within a NATO operational framework.
Pollard emphasised that the retirement of the Watchkeeper will not diminish the role of the 47th Regiment Royal Artillery. Instead, personnel will leverage their skills and experience with the Watchkeeper system to lead the fielding of the LTDF capability.
“Plans currently identify that 47 Regiment Royal Artillery will continue to deliver the Army’s Deep Find capability by turning their skills and experience from Watchkeeper Mk 1 to lead on fielding the new Deep Find capability,” he said.
In response to a question about the potential gifting of Watchkeeper platforms or parts to allies, Pollard stated that plans for the phased withdrawal of the system are still in development.
As the retirement date for Watchkeeper approaches, further details are expected regarding the phased withdrawal and potential reallocation of its components.
Ok let’s see how quickly they get the new capability and can get it in service.
And what personnel do in the meantime.
Play DCS…
I suspect more ‘gaining a deeper understanding, and informing future decisions, ‘
Or am I being cynical?
No, we’ll be dreaming of that bloody phrase before long.
Dismantling the Watchkeepers and pack them off to Ukraine I suppose.. we can only hope that the purchase is a pretty immediate off the shelf option..I’m not holding my breath but we can but live in hope.
‘Instead, personnel will leverage their skills and experience with the Watchkeeper system to lead the fielding of the LTDF capability.’
Of course even though they are trying to give the sort of impression that they will be flying in some form a replacement in the same effective manner as the Watchkeeper it doesn’t do anything of the sort. I mean ‘lead the fielding’ could mean anything from individuals taking turns at looking at glossy pics of drones upwards, and very probably downwards too. Is it my imagination or has the meaningless waffle on almost anything gone up a notch with this new Govt? I’m waiting for ‘working soldiers’ and ‘military toolmakers’ to become ‘state of the art’ buzzwords soon. I fear we will be getting a lot more of this as the concept of us urgently re-armaming takes precedence over any actual rearmament.
Probably a few kites
Or maybe it implies that the replacement will have transferable skills from Watchkeeper, ie it’s a MALE drone.
That means Mojave, realistically. Does anyone know any other similar UAVs?
And of coarse the new replacement will be more advanced and be able to do more…
So the order will be cut in half and then we will find out it cost too much and cant do all the tasks
“Pollard emphasised that the retirement of the Watchkeeper will not diminish the role of the 47th Regiment Royal Artillery”
So what replaces the Watchkeeper radar?
“Thales I-Master Radar performs both Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) in strip-map and spotlight modes and supports high-quality ground mapping. The Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI) can detect and track moving targets.”
Previously had in Sentinel. Also gone.
Cheap as chips might not have the sensors.
They have learned nothing from Ukraine at all.
The army and mod are totally clueless and out of their depth
Slight off topic, but talking of Ukraine and drones whilst fundraising tonight this has just shown up in my feed >>
In the 11 months of 2024, the Ministry of Defense delivered over 1.2 million drones to the Defense Forces:
🔸 40,000 reconnaissance multirotor drones, including 12,000+ night-vision drones
🔸 5,000 reconnaissance fixed-wing UAVs (Shark, HOR, Furia, etc.)
🔸 6,000 deep-strike drones (Lutyi, Firepoint, etc.)
🔸 2,000 reusable attack UAVs (Nemesis, Kazhan, Vampire)
🔸 5,000 reusable FPV drones.
🔸 1.1 million FPV kamikaze drones.
By the end of the year, another 100,000 drones are planned for delivery.
And i dont think this includes the ordinary fundraiser by soldiers and volunteers (NAFO)