Watcher keeper to Watch Channel
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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Watchkeeper to Watch Channel
The “Bugger Off” to help tell illegal immigrants to bugger off......
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/a...nnel-d3qs3nsxh
Army drone deployed to spot migrants in Channel
An army surveillance drone was due to have started patrolling the Channel overnight, looking for migrants trying to cross from France.
The Watchkeeper unmanned aerial vehicle was due to undergo a seven-hour trial from 2am this morning. Launched from Lydd airport in Kent, it was operated by 47th Regiment Royal Artillery to transmit a live feed of the sea surface back to the unit.
It is the first time an army asset has been used in support of the Home Office to tackle migrant crossings. It is also the first time Watchkeeper has been used operationally in the UK. “It will provide a leading surveillance and reconnaissance capability, feeding information back to the Border Force and allowing them to take appropriate action where necessary,” a Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said last night.
If the trial is successful, the drone could become a permanent tool in the government’s arsenal to curb perilous crossings. However, its use is highly weather-dependent. The test today would have been delayed if conditions were poor........
A move to deploy Watchkeeper drones permanently in support of the Home Office could mark a fresh start for a programme that has suffered mixed fortunes, running £400m over cost and facing chronic delays. It came into service in 2010 and was most recently used by the British army in Afghanistan. Several Watchkeepers have crashed in recent years, with one stalling after a technical problem during a bad weather flight test and plunging into the sea off the Welsh coast last year.
The drone is piloted by radio signals, which means troops must be close on the ground near by to fly it. For this reason it has been less suitable for deployment over Syria and Iraq than the Reaper, an RAF drone that is controlled by satellite and can be operated from thousands of miles away......
A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: “The deployment of Watchkeeper provides further Defence support to the Home Office in tackling the increasing number of small boats crossing the English Channel. It will provide a leading surveillance and reconnaissance capability, feeding information back to the Border Force and allowing them to take appropriate action where necessary.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/a...nnel-d3qs3nsxh
Army drone deployed to spot migrants in Channel
An army surveillance drone was due to have started patrolling the Channel overnight, looking for migrants trying to cross from France.
The Watchkeeper unmanned aerial vehicle was due to undergo a seven-hour trial from 2am this morning. Launched from Lydd airport in Kent, it was operated by 47th Regiment Royal Artillery to transmit a live feed of the sea surface back to the unit.
It is the first time an army asset has been used in support of the Home Office to tackle migrant crossings. It is also the first time Watchkeeper has been used operationally in the UK. “It will provide a leading surveillance and reconnaissance capability, feeding information back to the Border Force and allowing them to take appropriate action where necessary,” a Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said last night.
If the trial is successful, the drone could become a permanent tool in the government’s arsenal to curb perilous crossings. However, its use is highly weather-dependent. The test today would have been delayed if conditions were poor........
A move to deploy Watchkeeper drones permanently in support of the Home Office could mark a fresh start for a programme that has suffered mixed fortunes, running £400m over cost and facing chronic delays. It came into service in 2010 and was most recently used by the British army in Afghanistan. Several Watchkeepers have crashed in recent years, with one stalling after a technical problem during a bad weather flight test and plunging into the sea off the Welsh coast last year.
The drone is piloted by radio signals, which means troops must be close on the ground near by to fly it. For this reason it has been less suitable for deployment over Syria and Iraq than the Reaper, an RAF drone that is controlled by satellite and can be operated from thousands of miles away......
A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: “The deployment of Watchkeeper provides further Defence support to the Home Office in tackling the increasing number of small boats crossing the English Channel. It will provide a leading surveillance and reconnaissance capability, feeding information back to the Border Force and allowing them to take appropriate action where necessary.”
Last edited by ORAC; 31st Aug 2020 at 07:45.
Made by a Portugese company called Tekever. The government don't seem to want to talk about it much. Probably doing a good job though.
Its purpose being to locate migrants ASAP and so intercept them all the earlier in order to provide for their rescue and safe haven in the UK?
If you watch any of the ADSB websites you will see the drone or search aircraft any night when the wind is light(high pressure).
None ever cross the FIR boundary so presumably these people have virtually completed a home run already!
None ever cross the FIR boundary so presumably these people have virtually completed a home run already!
The French Navy/CG escort them to the boundary just to help them on their way; if they try to return them,the migrants threaten to jump,or put children overboard......however the Fr. seem unable/unwilling to threaten the migrants that if they do,they will all be returned to Fr.and put in prison.,charged with attempted/murder.....
A lot of people in France are making a mint selling dinghies and LSJs,and a typical Gallic shrug by the `intelligence services.....
A lot of people in France are making a mint selling dinghies and LSJs,and a typical Gallic shrug by the `intelligence services.....
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At least they've found a use for the Watchkeeper at last. Another of Lord Dannatt's pet projects, I believe.
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Contract was signed under his predecessor (General Jackson) in 2005, although ISTR that there were several mutterings during Lord D’s tenure to the effect that he really ought to start thinking about sacrificing it for (say) more investment in SH.
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I'm not sure if they have been deployed yet. Mind you, all it can do is watch and the watchers can inform our authorities. I don't think that will help us much unless The Home Office manage to formulate a plan to deter the migrants. Let's face it, France will just continue to turn a blind eye!
I'm not sure if they have been deployed yet. Mind you, all it can do is watch and the watchers can inform our authorities. I don't think that will help us much unless The Home Office manage to formulate a plan to deter the migrants. Let's face it, France will just continue to turn a blind eye!
