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UK ‘Protector’ UAV Fleet to Replace RAF Reapers

The UK is to receive 20 new ‘Protector’ unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as part of a wider ramp-up of unmanned, surveillance, and special forces capabilities to combat militant Islam in the Middle East, Prime Minister David Cameron announced on 3 October.

Speaking to the Telegraph newspaper, Cameron said that the 10 General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (Predator B) medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAVs currently fielded by the Royal Air Force (RAF) will be replaced by double the number of the Protector UAVs “to keep us safe and to give us the intelligence and information and potentially give us the capacity to hit people who are potentially planning to hit us”.

There is no UAV known to be in development or service known as Protector, and Cameron provided little detail except to say that it will be able to fly longer distances, is quieter and can carry more sophisticated weapons and equipment than the incumbent Reaper.

The disclosure in the Telegraph , which was timed to coincide with the government’s annual party conference, comes some three months after Cameron urged UK defence chiefs to spend more on “special forces and readily deployable counter-terrorist capabilities” such as UAVs as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) planned for later this year. At that time no reference was made to the Protector UAV.

“With a greater range and endurance, the new Protector aircraft will dramatically increase the UK’s ability to identify, track, deter and ultimately counter potential threats,” the Ministry of Defence says. “Combined with the increase in the size of the fleet, this will substantially enhance the UK’s global intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability.”

While Cameron’s comments mark the first time that the existence of a Protector UAV has been disclosed, there are a small number of prospective platforms to which he might be referring.

The manufacturer of the Reaper, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI), has developed an enhanced version of the platform, known as the Reaper Extended Range (ER), as well as an advanced jet-powered version, known as the Avenger (also referred to as the Predator C).

While the Reaper ER does provide the increased range that Cameron spoke of, it does not offer the improvements promised in terms of the audio signature and the sophisticated weapons and equipment.

It could be that the Elbit Systems Hermes 900 (pictured), or a more advanced development of it, would provide the capabilities described by the prime minister through a joint venture similar to that which saw the Watchkeeper developed and introduced into UK service.