A Royal Air Force Protector RG Mk1 has been photographed at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus carrying what appears to be the so-called Outdragon signals intelligence pod.
The images, first reported by The Aviationist, show one of 54 Squadron’s Protector aircraft on the taxiway at the Cyprus base with a podded payload mounted on the starboard wing’s number 8 hardpoint. The location and configuration of the pod align with previously published details that have linked Outdragon to that specific station on the aircraft, drawn from a Royal Air Force loadout document that briefly appeared in the public domain before being withdrawn.
The existence of Outdragon as a UK capability was first reported in April 2024 by Drone Wars UK, the non-governmental organisation that has consistently tracked British armed drone operations. Drone Wars UK established through a Freedom of Information request that the Ministry of Defence had procured Outdragon from General Atomics as a Foreign Military Sale from the United States in April 2018 for around $5 million, and that a further $2.2 million contract had been awarded in April 2019 for the modification and integration of the system onto the RAF’s then-in-service MQ-9A Reaper fleet. Beyond those contracting details, the MoD declined to confirm or deny the existence of Outdragon, citing national security interests.
Outdragon is a podded airborne communications intelligence system, with a primary role understood to be the detection, location and tracking of persons of interest through their electromagnetic emissions. The signals of interest are typically associated with mobile phones and wireless routers, which means the system is assessed to operate across the upper VHF, UHF and lower SHF parts of the spectrum. Devices operating in those bands account for the bulk of everyday personal communications hardware.
The Protector RG Mk1, based on General Atomics’ MQ-9B SkyGuardian, entered RAF service in 2025 as the replacement for the older MQ-9A Reaper. Unlike its predecessor, Protector carries a military type certificate that allows it to operate in non-segregated civilian airspace.
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If they are RAF drones they will never go to sea.
QEC needs persistent drone presence not the odd fly by.
Persistent? 20h endurance at 2000km persistent?
SeaGuardian kit MQ-9Bs would be working alongside Poseidon to give more efficient time on station, and if the STOL kit gets developed then we should get an extra order of Navy-operated ones.
But the drones need to be on QEC all the time.
RAFs argument will be ‘we have the rest of the fleet it would be cheaper to give us a budget uplift and we will sort it.’
Then when they have got the extra drones, ‘ drones don’t like being at sea’ or ‘lots of other taskings…..’
It would have to be a different version of the drone to go on the carrier MQ9B STOVL.
Then the RAF should be told to get lost. Joint maintenance pools do not necessarily mean joint squadrons, and despite some of the interviews from the STOL reveal early on the wings will not be able to be mixed and matched within the fleet so there’s no advantage to the RAF operating Navy-only airframes.
In addition to the Outdragon ISR pod under the starboard wing, there’s a large blade antenna fitted to the centreline of the fuselage.
Under the port wing is a Paveway IV bomb.
The Drone Wars site mentioned in the article has a leaked hardpoint chart from 2024 that includes Outdragon as a pod to be carried under the no8 pylon third outboard on the starboard wing. There is also a ‘fin’ to be carried under the fuselage but its carriage corresponds entirely to Outdragon so it might just be an aerodynamic modification with the big pod causing an asymmetric loadout.
Halfway through the article, there’s a link to another article from 2024 that had a spec sheet of what payloads could be loaded where on the aircraft.
Something tells me the military will be risk averse by keeping these platforms away from contested airspace re US losses over Iran.
The bots on this site need sorting out.
I emailed the site admins, considering they’re still active, probs haven’t done much to stop this kind of comment in the filters.
Good to see that the little mentioned SIGINT capability of Reaper has carried on with Protector.
Drone Wars…..interesting site I occasionally peruse, but delouse after, they’re one step away from the SWP, much like Declassified UK, totally anti UK military.
Interesting too that 54 Sqn, the ISTAR OCU, have assets assigned, Protector is probably numerous enough in number to allow this, vs assets with but a handful of aircraft?
13 and 31 remain the two front line Squadrons.
See also AIRHANDLER, No 54 Signals Unit, and possibly the JESC regards related orgs.
It depends who they are used to spy on.
We are assuming it’s the ‘baddies’, but what if it’s us.
Not paid your TV licence? Send one of these to hack into your bank account balance.
Off work sick? Check up on your chats with your mates.
Don’t tell me it could never happen.