UK rules out sending Watchkeeper drones to Ukraine, citing obsolete technology

Britain will not transfer its troubled Watchkeeper drone fleet to Ukraine. Defence Minister Luke Pollard confirmed the decision this week. He declared the 16-year-old surveillance system too outdated for the demands of the war.

The move caps a pattern of Western military aid that arrives past its prime. Ukraine has learned this lesson repeatedly. GLSDB bombs failed due to Russian jamming. Western tanks proved too complex to maintain. Now Britain's flagship drone program joins the list.

Why Watchkeeper failed

Watchkeeper was designed for Afghanistan's uncontested skies. It entered service in 2014—years behind schedule—and never adapted to peer warfare.

The £5.2 million-per-unit drones suffered at least seven crashes—roughly one in eight aircraft lost. They performed poorly in bad weather despite "all-weather" marketing. Across a fleet of 54 aircraft, they accumulated just 4,000 flying hours total.

"Drone technology has evolved at remarkable pace, driven by the extensive use of unmanned systems in the war in Ukraine." —Defence Minister Luke Pollard

Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces destroy Russian positions with consumer-grade FPV drones. These cost a few hundred dollars each. Labour MP Kevan Jones noted that "Ukrainian forces have shown that many of Watchkeeper's capabilities can be delivered for a fraction of the cost."

Pollard confirmed £115.9 million is allocated through March 2027. This money will simply wind down the program. It will also support the transition to Project Corvus, a next-generation system expected in November 2026.

The real question: can any large drone survive?

The UK's refusal to donate Watchkeeper reflects a hard calculation. Some equipment costs more to transfer than it's worth.

Training operators takes time. Building infrastructure costs money. Maintaining aging systems with crash histories drains resources. Defence Express noted the drones would face "high probability of disaster" given their accident record.

But there's a deeper question here. Can any large surveillance drone survive modern air defenses?

The evidence suggests that improving drone survivability will be difficult. The US has lost 15-19 MQ-9 Reapers to Houthi militants in Yemen since October 2023. Each costs $30 million. Ukraine's Bayraktar TB2 fleet was nearly destroyed within months of Russia's full-scale invasion. One Ukrainian pilot called the drones "almost useless" against layered air defenses.

"Lessons from Ukraine showed that MALE [Medium-Altitude Long Endurance] UAVs were not survivable." —UK Minister of State Lord Coaker

What comes next

Project Corvus aims to replace Watchkeeper. Valued at £130-156 million, it promises 24-hour persistent surveillance. The system should work better in contested environments.

The Ministry of Defence wants something that can operate "robustly" where Watchkeeper could not. However, analysts at RUSI warn the Army may be "staying behind the curve." They argue that another expensive MALE platform repeats the same mistake.

Beyond British drones, there is a domestic alternative for Ukraine. Skyeton, a Ukrainian company, has entered the competition with its battle-tested Raybird drone. This 23kg platform costs a fraction of Watchkeeper's price. More importantly, it has actually survived Ukraine's air defense environment.