The British Army’s Watchkeeper UAV, originally intended to leave service in March 2025, has had its troubled service life extended to March 2027, while procurement for successor platforms remains in the early stages.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced in November 2024, as part of a wider series of cuts , that the British Army’s Watchkeeper intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) drone would be retired from service ahead of schedule. Initially this was expected to take place by March 2025, but continued operation of the aircraft from a number of locations had already shown that deadline had been missed. A contract for the provision of maintenance services for the Watchkeeper fleet issued in April 2025 indicated that the expected withdrawal date w

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