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on the aircraft, drawn from a Royal Air Force loadout document that briefly appeared in the public domain before being withdrawn.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.
An excellent example of smart procurement done right, now let’s build fleet up quickly, another 20 airframes, with STOL wing sets for carrier capability, Sea Guardian kit ect to bolster the small P7 force etc, a fantastic force multiplier.
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.
Same drone, different wing set I think Jim….
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.
They only need to be on a carrier when they are operationally needed. Not all the time. It would be a different version anyway to operate at sea.
What utter bollox
Really?
What about the long held RAF mantra, expressed to me by very senior RAF, ‘if flies it is ours!’
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.
Of course it happens, and quite right too. There are indeed airborne assets, but they are not after “us” but the enemy within, chasing terrorists by tracking their mobile phones, reportedly.
I have no issue with UKIC surveillance in the UK, they have a job to do.
It used to be the Islanders of the Northolt Station Flight, from a certain hanger out of the western end of RAF Northolt ( rendition flights went from there as well allegedly ) and that capability was possibly replaced by 3 Piper Navajo contractor supplied aircraft, G-SCIR / G-SCTR / G-SCMR, and also aircraft flying from elsewhere used by the police.
I suspect the Islanders were also part “replaced” by in service RAF Shadow aircraft, they seem to like circling British Towns and Cities where there are large populations of Islamists, some of whom have not integrated.
Also, keep looking up, the Security Service probably have Drones, judging by their involvement with research carried out by Imperial College. 😉
dm i’ve seen shadow aircraft flying a low grid pattern over london a year or more ago. thought as much
Watch out mate, you know ‘too much’🫣🫣🫣
Don’t be surprised if there’s an icecream van parked outside your house, with blacked out windows and a satellite dish on the roof tomorrow morning…
😂
All that’s open source mate! I’m just very well read.
They don’t need a Protector flying over your town to find that info out.
No, just get the records direct from your bank and service providers are compelled to supply other data.
This stuff, and the previous Islanders, I think is more in the domain of mobile surveillance of mobile communications.
I can only assume they’re there to take over the crows nest role. I imagine they’re somewhat more competent in that capacity?
No. These are not ASCS assets. They carry out ground surveillance and armed overwatch, and while doing that carrying out a bit of SIGINT is a useful addition.
Reaper and now Protector dets have been at Akrotiri for some time, long before the Drone attack.
Interesting! I suppose that explains the need for crows nest.
I know they’ve been there a while, but never seen them with those pods until recently. Protector strikes me as an ideal platform for the AEW role – I’d have assumed it’d be somewhat high on the RAF’s to-do list.
The Russian intelligence service thanks you for your intelligence picture. To know the current load out of your drones is helpful to use. It will enable us to mitigate the threat from this asset. In the old days we would have to have sent a spy to take such a photo… now you do it for us. Where do we send the order of Lenin?