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UK trials of Watchkeeper delayed until last quarter

1st April 2009 - 12:45 GMT | by Darren Lake in Bristol

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The migration of flight trials for the British Army's new Watchkeeper 450 UAS from Israel to ParcAberporth in Wales has been put back according to an official close to the programme.

Last year, prime contractor Thales said that it was hoping to bring the trials activities in to the UK by April so that flying could begin this summer. That aspiration has been shelved although officials say that the changed plans will not impact the planned initial operational capability (IOC) date of 2010.

The change to the flight trials was made after an assessment by the UAS Project Team (PT)

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Author

Darren Lake

Darren has more than two decades of experience in aerospace and defence journalism. After completing …

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