The British armed forces have not exactly had much success with UAV’s – to date the only UAV to enter operational service has been the ill-fated Phoenix. However, the inability of this poorly designed, unreliable and ill-equipped UAV to undertake operations in the high summer temperatures of Iraq led to MOD to approach the US about the possibility of operating the General Atomics Predator A.
The approach was obviously successful because, with almost no publicity, the RAF began to actually operate the Predator. Early in 2004 the RAF formed 1115 Flight, also based at ISAFAF, Nevada, as part of a subordinate unit to the US Air Force’s 15th Reconnaissance Squadron. The compliment of 1115 Flt is around 44 personnel, the Predators are flown by RAF GD pilots, either with a fast-jet or fixed-wing background, supported by a tri-service mix of sensor operators, including some 'ground' personnel from the intelligence branch. Data interpretation is undertaken by various intelligence specialists from the US and UK. Individuals from 1115 Flt are completely intergrated with their US colleagues operating the Predator in Iraq, as part of a US/UK Combined Joint Predator Task Force, with UK operaters acting in support of UK forces operating around the Basra area. All RAF personnel are trained alongside their US colleagues at ISAFAF and many have achieved a particularly high standard on their courses.