Thales Watchkeeper WK450

Watchkeeper WK450 is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for all weather, Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) use by the British Army, provided under an £800 million contract awarded in July 2005 to Thales.

Overview
The Watchkeeper WK450 is based on the Elbit Hermes 450 UAV. The engine is a rotary Wankel engine. It has a mass of 450 kg and a payload capacity of 150 kg, with a typical endurance of 17 hours. It was originally intended to enter service in June 2010. The Watchkeeper is built in the UK by a joint venture company, UAV Tactical Systems (U-TacS), set up by the Israeli company Elbit Systems (51% ownership) and French company Thales. UAV Engines Ltd, who build the rotary engine in the UK, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Elbit Systems. The majority Israeli ownership has caused some unexpected problems obtaining U.S. export authorisation for some components.

History
On 15 July 2007, the UK MoD revealed that 54 Watchkeepers will be delivered to the British Army. The average cost to the taxpayer is therefore £800m divided by 54 aircraft, approximately £15m per platform. However, this figure includes construction of new basing facilities at Boscombe Down airfield, ground training facilities and simulators at the School of Artillery, Viking armoured vehicles and other equipment for tactical parties, ground control stations, development and testing of extensive aircraft modifications including automatic take-off and landing and the integration and provision of new sensors including radars.

Watchkeeper's first UK flight took place on Wednesday 14 April 2010 from ParcAberporth in Wales.

In October 2010, the contract was extended by a further 18 months, and the delivery date slipped. Deployment by the Royal Artillery is said to be imminent in 2013, though certification by the Military Aviation Authority is still awaited. As of 2013, the programme is running about three years late; in September, release to service approval was expected to be granted before the end of the year.

The Royal Artillery has a future aspiration to weaponise Watchkeeper.