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Watchkeeper all-weather capability ‘not true’

21st December 2016 - 15:08 GMT | by Grant Turnbull in London

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The British Army’s multi-billion pound Watchkeeper unmanned aerial system (UAS) fleet should no longer be considered an ‘all-weather’ capability, following two crashes caused by flying in bad weather and software flaws.

The judgement was made by the head of the UK’s Defence Safety Authority (DSA) as he summarised the latest findings of a Watchkeeper (WK006) that crashed while attempting to land at Boscombe Down airfield in November 2015.

It’s the latest embarrassing revelation for a programme that has ballooned in cost and seen repeated delays.

Both the British Army and manufacturer Thales state that the Watchkeeper is capable of ‘all-weather’

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Author

Grant Turnbull

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Grant Turnbull was the editor of Land Warfare International and Digital Battlespace magazines with Shephard …

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