The Warzone/The Drive: The UK Has Spent Nearly 15 Years Developing Watchkeeper Drones It Says Aren't Safe to Fly
The British Army has more than 50 of the unmanned aircraft, but authorities say they still aren't reliable enough even for routine drills.
After more than a decade of development, the U.K. Ministry of Defense has acknowledged that its Watchkeeper WK450 drones have yet to receive a full “release to service” certification. This means that officials have not yet deemed the aircraft safe enough to operate regularly in training exercises, let alone actual operations, and it’s not clear when they might be ready routine duties.
On Jan. 29, 2018, Permanent Secretary Stephen Lovegrove, the U.K. Ministry of Defense’s chief civilian administrator, revealed the latest setbacks in a letter to the head of the Public Accounts Committee within the country’s parliament. The memo appeared online earlier in March 2018 and a report by Jane’s 360 called it an “unprecedented move” on the part of the Secretary. The United Kingdom first announced the project in 2005 and the British Army now has a fleet of approximately 52 of the unmanned aircraft, which carry a sensor turret with electro-optical and infrared full motion video cameras and synthetic aperture imaging radar with a ground moving target indicator function.
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WNU Editior: After 15 years of trying .... and failing .... it is time to throw in the towel and start something new.
6 comments:
Wow that's embarrassing. The UK of today is not what it was 50-100 years ago. But don't mention it to Brits. .they still dream of the good old days of the long gone British Empire.
Important to remember that empires come and go.
China is not what it was 50 years ago
Russia is not what it was 50 years ago
U.S. is not what it was 50 years ago
Venezuela is not what it was 50 years ago
I am not what I was 50 years ago
Even the empires of 'The New Left" & 'The New, New Left.' It is new & improved, honest!
Smit
of course: the snark that is silly and out of context
Dear Fred,
My comment was not directed at you.
That you felt that you must rebut it is very telling.
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