The British Army’s £1.35bn Watchkeeper drone programme: From ambition and innovation to delays, failure, and abandonment

21 November 2024, 08:46

By EJ Ward

The British Army has officially scrapped its troubled £1.35bn Watchkeeper drone programme, marking the end of a project plagued by delays, cost overruns, and persistent technical failures.

The decision comes after nearly two decades of development, during which the programme struggled to meet expectations and fell behind advances in drone technology.

Launched in 2000, the Watchkeeper was intended to provide cutting-edge surveillance capabilities for the Army, delivering real-time battlefield intelligence using a fleet of 54 drones.

However, the programme faced numerous setbacks, including eight crashes, repeated delays in achieving operational capability, and mounting concerns over its reliability in poor weather conditions.

Despite initial promises of cost-effectiveness, the project’s budget ballooned from £700 million to £1.35 billion by 2023, raising questions about its value for money.

Critics have argued that Watchkeeper’s performance fell far short of modern battlefield requirements, with smaller, cheaper drones now dominating conflicts such as the Russo-Ukraine war.

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The programme’s troubled history included delays in its first UK flight, which took place in 2010, four years later than scheduled. Even after being certified for military training in 2014, full operational capability was repeatedly postponed.

One in seven drones was lost in crashes, including incidents in Wales, Cyprus, and New Mexico, often attributed to its inability to function in adverse weather—despite being marketed as an all-weather system.

Training difficulties also hampered progress, with exercises relocated to Ascension Island due to poor UK weather.

Even on missions where it was deployed, such as Channel patrols in 2020, the Watchkeeper conducted only a handful of sorties, prompting scepticism about its utility in domestic security roles.

The eight documented crashes since 2014 further underlined its technical vulnerabilities, including a tendency to fail in poor weather conditions—a critical flaw for a system marketed as all-weather capable.

Recruitment issues within the Army’s dedicated drone unit, 47 Regiment Royal Artillery, have further hindered the programme.

Since 2019, the unit has faced a persistent shortage of pilots, with calls for £30,000 bonuses to attract and retain personnel.

Meanwhile, whistleblowers have highlighted issues with the programme’s development, including over-specification, with the aircraft reportedly required to meet 1,910 individual criteria.

Designed during the Afghanistan conflict to operate in uncontested airspace, Watchkeeper has become increasingly irrelevant on modern battlefields, where inexpensive consumer-grade drones like DJI Mavics, and DIY "first-person view" drones, have revolutionised warfare.

These consumer-grade drones, costing only a few thousand pounds, provide cost-effective reconnaissance and even strike capabilities, contrasting sharply with Watchkeeper’s £5.2 million unit price.

The reliance on Watchkeeper’s outdated technology also highlights a broader shift in military strategy. Designed for environments where enemies lacked sophisticated anti-aircraft capabilities, such as Afghanistan, Watchkeeper is ill-suited to modern battlefields with contested airspace and advanced air defences.

Former Army officer Hamish de Bretton-Gordon described the Watchkeeper as a relic of counterinsurgency-era thinking. “One has to question whether these big drones have had their day, on the basis that they are too easy to interdict and take down,” he said

Last year Mark Francois, then chair of a Parliamentary sub-committee on defence procurement, described Watchkeeper as “an example of over-specification and mismanagement.” A whistleblower had previously revealed that the drone was designed to meet 1,910 individual criteria, contributing to its protracted development and escalating costs.

The Watchkeeper programme was intended to revolutionise battlefield reconnaissance, but it has instead become a cautionary tale of over-ambition, cost overruns, and technological obsolescence.

Despite years of development and a staggering £1.35 billion investment, the system has failed to deliver on its promises, with its operational capabilities increasingly outmatched by smaller, cheaper drones.

As threats evolve and defence budgets come under greater scrutiny, the Watchkeeper’s struggles serve as a stark reminder of the need for adaptability and cost-effectiveness in military procurement.