Ukraine will not receive British Watchkeeper reconnaissance drones; the UK Ministry of Defence has decided to dispose of them instead of handing them over to the Ukrainian army.
The Kyiv regime has been left without British reconnaissance drones, despite having counted on them since talks about their transfer had been ongoing for some time. However, the UK Ministry of Defence has decided to dispose of the entire Watchkeeper series of UAVs. This is explained by the fact that these drones were put into service back in 2010 and are now obsolete. The British are promising “more highly effective” drones in their place. However, so far, this is just talk.
The UK, along with its partners, will continue to support Kyiv, equipping it “in the best possible way to protect sovereign territory and ensure a strong position for any peace negotiations.”
Kyiv will also be left without British MQ-9 Reapers; they will also be disposed of instead of being handed over or sold to Ukraine.
The Watchkeeper is a British tactical reconnaissance drone developed jointly by Thales UK and Israel’s Elbit Systems. It is essentially an Israeli Elbit Hermes 450 modified to meet British specifications. The drone proved problematic, extremely expensive to operate, and unreliable, leading to the decision to decommission it, although it was originally intended to serve until 2042.
