Thales Wk450 Watchkeeper UAV Damaged During Landing

A British Army's Thales Wk450 Watchkeeper was seriously damaged during a landing incident on 2 November. The Watchkeeper, which was developed from Elbit's H450 Hermes was on a routine training sortie when it crashed on the runway. This is the third accidents involving the Watchkeeper since induction into service last year. One aircraft has already been written off as unreparable. The UK had planned a procurement of 54 Watchkeeper in 2005. The current planned date for the Initial Operational Capability (IOC) is 2017. However, the majority of the 33 aircraft delivered are currently in storage. The aircraft involved in the latest incident is one of eight being tested at the Boscombe Down facility.



Janes

Defense Industry Daily

Independent