Army to replace Watchkeeper with Ukraine-proven drone

The British Army plans to introduce Tekever's AR5 uncrewed aircraft under a contract worth up to £400 million, replacing the Watchkeeper system with a platform that has been used in Ukraine. AR5 is expected to provide persistent intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting support while drawing on operational lessons from a heavily contested electromagnetic environment. The wider announcement also includes a separate £16 million purchase of more than 1,000 small drones, indicating that the Army is pursuing both long-endurance surveillance aircraft and larger numbers of tactical systems.