A total of 54 Watchkeeper drones were acquired, of which eight were lost in accidents. Credit: UK MoD/Crown copyright
  • In 2025 the UK Government opted to maintain the Watchkeeper UAV for two more years, through to 2027
  • Operational with the British Army since 2014, the Watchkeeper programme has been plagued by problems
  • Maintaining the Watchkeeper UAVs in service will cost nearly 75% of the budget allotted for their planned replacement

The cost to maintain the ineffectual Wk450 Watchkeeper Mk1 UAVs for an additional two years beyond the planned departure in 2025 will amount to over £95m ($128.1m), according to newly released UK Government figures.

Detailed in a Hansard written parliamentary response on 26 February, the UK Government said that the British Army’s Watchkeeper UAV fleet was due to be retired from service from March 2025.

The platform was given a reprieve until March 2027 in order to allow the UK to find a suitable replacement, currently being overseen through the Project Corvus programme.

“The cost of keeping the Watchkeeper programme in service for the additional two-year period is currently anticipated to be £95,659,000,” said UK Defence Readiness Minister Luke Pollard.

Officially delivered into service in 2014, the Watchkeeper UAV fleet has had an inconsistent record in service with the British Army, operated in an intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) role by 47th Regiment Royal Artillery.

The programme suffered from a number of mishaps, including the loss of at least eight of the 54-aircraft fleet in crashes and other accidents.

As previously reported by Army Technology, the Watchkeeper programme had run up costs of £1.35bn by 2023 and was rapidly falling into near obsolescence due to advancements in drone technology resulting from the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war.

Project Corvus: Watchkeeper replacement

The plan to replace the Watchkeeper ISTAR drone capability for the British Army will be overseen by Project Corvus, with a tender notice published in July 2025 for the procurement of a UAV to support the Land Deep Find 24-hr Persistent Surveillance Requirement.

The budget was set at £156m, which means that the cost to maintain Watchkeeper in service will cost around 73% of the total outlay of its replacement.

A contract is due to start in May 2026, and will be delivered through to April 2030, with a possible extension out to April 2036.