The British Army is to be equipped with Tekever AR5 surveillance drones under an investment of up to £400 million, the Ministry of Defence stated.
The initial order will be for six AR5 drones, with up to 24 delivered by 2029. According to the MOD, the aircraft can carry up to 50kg of surveillance equipment such as cameras and sensors, and offer longer endurance than the systems the Army has used previously, giving commanders real-time intelligence to inform battlefield decisions.
The AR5 has been selected to replace the ageing Watchkeeper drone under a contract worth up to £400 million over the next ten years. The MOD said the aircraft would be built at Tekever’s soon-to-open manufacturing facility in Swindon, and that the full contract would sustain and create hundreds of jobs at the company’s UK sites.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting was quoted in the press release as saying: “Proven in Ukraine and designed to protect British soldiers globally, we’ve chosen the UK-based Tekever AR5 drone to supply our personnel with kit that will keep them ahead of emerging threats. This investment will support our troops on deployment, while driving re-industrialisation and backing British innovation.”
According to the MOD, Watchkeeper has been in service since 2014 and is reaching the end of its operational life, with the AR5 offering improved endurance, sensor capability and reliability. The department said the AR5 has been used by Ukraine’s armed forces on the battlefield during the country’s defence against Russia’s invasion.
Tekever UK’s Managing Director Karl Brew said: “CORVUS represents a major step change in delivering cutting edge autonomy to the British Army. This isn’t about a platform, it’s about building and sustaining sovereign capability that stays one step ahead of our adversaries. Through CORVUS, TEKEVER aims to create a new type of partnership between government and industry where we will ensure a constant cycle of capability evolution that delivers decisive advantage to our end users.”
Subject to contract signature and final approvals, the MOD said the capability would begin entering service later this year, with support sustained for at least five years and options to extend.
The AR5 is a fixed-wing tactical uncrewed aircraft built by Tekever, a Portuguese-founded company that has established a growing presence in the UK. The type has been used extensively for maritime surveillance, including under contract to the UK for monitoring small-boat crossings in the English Channel, and has seen operational use in Ukraine.
The decision draws a line under the Watchkeeper programme, a system developed by Thales UK based on an Israeli Elbit design that entered service years late and suffered a series of crashes during testing and operations. The Army confirmed in recent years that it intended to retire the fleet, and the AR5 selection marks the route by which its tactical surveillance capability will now be sustained.
Watchkeeper was one of the first assets to be announced as retired by Healey when Labour came to power. Initially reported as a cut, it then transpired that it wouldn’t be immediate, but would serve on.
Further, at the time, both the MoD and some of the defence commentariat were claiming it had to go as it was no longer survivable on the battlefield.
Can someone explain to me please how this is any different in that regard?
And as usual, the magic number 24, replacing the 40 odd Watchkeeper that survived after all the crashes. Also 24 Nyx, 24 Storm Shroud, wonder why that is?
OT, Watchkeeper training flights were once reported to operate out of Boscombe and from the grass strip at Upavon, using the dedicated airspace set aside for the type. Brize is having it’s runway and taxiways resurfaced, the Atlas and C17 fleet has now moved to Boscombe, again demonstrating the importance of keeping strategic assets like Boscombe Down.
All good questions, plus a lot of money for a small number of drones.
By design any drone supporting artillery is going to need to be operating close to the front line. It doesn’t seem to include any tech that would make it survivable, like stealth or other defensive aids. Kinda feels like the UK has the same problem as the US, only having a handful of defense firms which prefer to sell massively expensive items that make them a load of money Vs lower tech stuff that can be massively produced
Ah, there you are. 👍
We spent near a billion for the Watchkeeper, now 400 million for half the number of assets.
I’ve also read that this is not an actual contract signed just yet, MoD have just confirmed the replacement programme won’t involve a competition, and Tekever are chosen as sole supplier for the requirement.
I guess it depends on the sensor fit out. If it’s optical then these things are going to be a sitting duck on a modern battlefield. If some form of ground search radar then maybe they can out range most man portable air defences.
Well of I remember correctly, Watchkeeper had ground surveillance radar and was queuing targets for Apache not long before it was announced it’d be axed.
This seems a buy contradicting the very reasons given for Watchkeepers demise.
Yep it’s odd. After all it’s just a platform for carrying sensors. If it was just the sensors that were absolute then why not upgrade them rather than starting a fresh.
Plus according to Wikipedia watch keeper had the potential to carry 150kg compared to this at 50kg, seems like a downgrade.
It’s just another sign that the British Army is deliberately being equipped and scaled to fight at Brigade levels ‘max’ and probably smaller mate.
If Watchkeeper was obsolete, what’s so different about this, is it because it will be 3d printed and easier/quicker to replace??
At £400m for a handful of drones, I don’t think easier/quick to replace is going to be a thing
Afternoon Steve, so you have to ask, why not just give Watchkeeper an avionics refresh??
What can this do, that Watchkeeper cant?
Your guess is as good as mine.
Fly without crashing 😀
Had crossed my mind that they had a load of issues with watch keeper early on and that said issues might not be fully fixed. Aka the noise issues with Ajax.
Interesting observation on the ’24’ of everything, mate.
I can guess at two possible reasons other than the obvious stealth cut option. First, these are initial batches , what we used to call ‘pre’ production units to enable frontline units to get their hands on them and try to break them, also shake out any the production wrinkles and get the support systems up and stress tested before ordering any follow on batches.
There is also the possibility that the MoD may be looking to control their spend profile. You make the point below that these drones are going to cost about £400m for 24 aircraft which ain’t cheap. By buying a small initial batch the MoD can get a lot of fixed up front costs such as the development, training and support packages in place and paid for off the back of the smaller initial batch, it may be possible that subsequent batches can be procured at a lower price lowering and smoothing out the cost profile over the longer term. Plus there is probably more risk involved in buying big straight up front.
Best example of this is the T26. According to Google AI the three batch 1 ships cost £1.31b to £1.46b each, while the second batch of 5 cost of £840m to £860m a reduction of approximately £500m each! In short, perhaps the MoD is trying to front load procurements rather than always being pushed into more expensive back loading option.
OK I might just be having a moment of optimism, but who knows may be there are at a few people in the MoD who can get things done properly.
Cheers CR
The 400 million is not really for 24 Tekever drones as these have a fly away cost of about £400,000 each.. so the cost of the 24 drones is about £10 million pounds..
The 400 million is a wider figure for..
1) match funding,as Tekever, iCOMAT’s and the NATO Innovation Fund announced that they were investing £400 million pounds to develop UK manufacturing of the AR5 drone and its capabilities as well as wider UK supply chain.
2) it’s over a decade to 2036, where as the last drone will be delivered in 2029, so it for wider support and development of the capabilities for a further decade.
3) the drone comes without any sensor so part of the £400 million will be sensors and capabilities.
Massive difference with this and watch keeper is ASGARD. Watchkeeper replaced Phoenix as an artillery spotting drone. With project Asgard every drone (we have 10,000 and counting) is spotting for artillery. However there is still a need for something that’s large, long range with significant loitering time hence a reduced number of AR5. They are already using the VTOL version of AR3 for artillery spotting. No runway required unlike watch keeper.