Supporting the British Army with Watchkeeper UAS
Thales in the UK's Watchkeeper is the first operationally proven Unmanned Aircraft System developed and built in the UK, providing real-time, enhanced situational awareness for troops on the ground while helping to reduce risk and loss of life.
● The largest UAS programme in Europe
● Used successfully to support operations in Afghanistan
● The first UAS in the UK to fly alongside manned aircraft in controlled civilian airspace
● Watchkeeper X
Thales in the UK’s Watchkeeper is at the forefront of Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) air systems. Watchkeeper has been awarded a Release To Service (RTS), following rigorous safety and airworthiness reviews to ensure the system can be operated safely by the British Army.
With our experience in UAS systems and services, Thales in the UK offers complete solutions, building tailored UAS capability for specific user requirements.
Thales in the UK has over 100,000 hours of operational UAS flying experience.
We have delivered the only unmanned aircraft system yet to fly in segregated and non-segregated airspace.
We support international regulatory initiatives to integrate UAS into civil airspace, promising many new applications. Providing the right information in the right format, at the right time and in the right place.
In a fast-moving, high definition world, seeing is no longer believing. Our customers need intelligence from a wider range of inputs to capture the information necessary to make decisions with confidence.
Thales ISR solutions are designed for defence, security and environmental protection applications, letting our customers see and hear more than ever before so that they can build a clearer intelligence picture.
The Watchkeeper’s Ground Control Station is its primary mission-planning, command and control interface, and can operate independently or as part of a C4I network. Missions are not mutually exclusive, and Watchkeeper can be dynamically re-tasked while airborne.
Watchkeeper carries the very latest optical and radar systems. Payload configurations include HD electro/optical, infrared and laser capabilities, to allow observation, recognition and transmission – and precision location accuracy – at any time of day or night, and in extreme weather conditions.
The Thales I-Master Radar performs both Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) in strip-map and spotlight modes and supports high-quality ground mapping. The Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI) can detect and track moving targets.
Thales in the UK is the Prime Contractor and Design Authority for the UK Watchkeeper UAS, which is the largest UAS contract in Europe. The Watchkeeper UAS provides persistent, timely and accurate ISTAR to commanders 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The fully network-enabled system will serve the UK Armed Forces for the next 30 years.
Watchkeeper is the first UAS to be awarded a full Release To Service (RTS) and is the only UAS of its type allowed to fly in UK airspace. The RTS follows rigorous safety and airworthiness reviews to ensure the system can be operated safely by the British Army.
Training
Thales provides classroom, simulation and live training to suit every operational requirement. All training is computer-aided and instructor-led. A full virtual simulated training environment develops both technical and tactical training with After Action Review (AAR), and a Part Task Trainer gives practical maintenance training.