Watchkeeper Drone Costs A Bomb So Far

When it comes to drones, there are so many different kinds in the market, be it for the average consumer, for the medical field, or for those who happen to be in the military and have access to far more resources and technology. Well, the Watchkeeper Drone happens to fall into the latter category, where it was developed by a consortium with French defence firm Thales heading it, although there has been major issues plaguing it so far. We are talking about it being four years late to the game, and is tipped to cost a whopping £1.2 billion by the time it is fully operational.

There has been an order to design and build 54 Watchkeeper surveillance drones which was announced by the defence secretary John Reid back in 2005, and he mentioned that the Watchkeeper drone would be “key to battlefield surveillance of the future”. His John Hancock catered to an estimated cost of £800 million, but it seems that software glitches and shortage in army personnel along the way has since seen the total cost balloon, with 2017 being the earliest operational date.

Keeping the peace is certainly expensive business, and of course, hard work, but having an army of highly powerful drones backing you up is certainly an advantage, isn’t it?

Edwin Kee
Categories: Military, Robots
Tags: Drones