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Some of you will have seen that the Secretary of State and I were at RAF Waddington last week, to view the SkyGuardian Protector prototype and announce a £94 million investment in the station infrastructure in readiness for Protector’s arrival.

This programme represents the very best of the UK's agile approach to defence procurement. The collaboration between the RAF, General Atomics and 12 UK industry partners will see £400m re-invested into the UK economy with the potential to rise to £1Bn. UK industry has contributed to every part of the aircraft system, from computer modules to engine development, the tail, weapons and logistical support.

Protector will enter RAF service in 2023 and be declared operational in 2024 as the successor to Reaper. We will have two squadrons, and we have already declared the first squadron will be 31 Squadron. I am delighted to announce that the second Protector squadron will indeed be 13 Squadron, a fitting allocation for a historic squadron, long associated with the RPAS role.

Protector represents a giant leap forward in technology and aircraft performance over its predecessor Reaper. Equipped with cutting-edge sensors, automatic take-off, landing and flight modes, and UK weapons, Protector can fly further for longer, from many more places around the world, with a much wider range of potential missions from flood monitoring, to maritime patrol, to strikes on violent extremists who would do us harm. This aircraft will enable our Government to act on a world stage within hours, at range, and precisely.

Just as with Atlas, if we treat Protector merely as an upgrade to Reaper and simply read across tactics and procedures, we will have failed to capitalize on what this remarkable platform offers. The technology alone is not enough remember, it’s what you do with it that matters.

Belgium and Australia are already signed up to the programme and up to 30 other air forces have expressed interest. There is enormous potential for like-minded allies to train together, and pool development and sustainment costs. And there is enormous potential for the UK and the Royal Air Force to be at the vanguard of this international programme, which is what that investment at Waddington will enable. (from CAS's speech at DSEI)

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https://x.com/totherchris/status/170...HhlFHGKbTPQr_A

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Protector can be configured to conduct a variety of ISTAR operations, including but not limited to:

• Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief
• Search and Rescue
• Law Enforcement
• Border Enforcement
• Defensive Counter Air
• Airborne Early Warning
• Electronic Warfare
• Long-Range Strategic ISTAR
• Anti-Surface Warfare (Maritime Role-Fit)
• Anti-Submarine Warfare (Maritime Role-Fit)

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MQ-9B Training at FTTC Will Become Benchmark for Future Training

SAN DIEGO – 04 May 2023 – On May 1, 2023, the Royal Air Force (RAF) began training its first cohort of pilots, sensor operators, and mission intelligence coordinators on operating its new Protector Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) at the Flight Test & Training Center (FTTC) in Grand Forks, N.D. The FTTC is owned and operated by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), which has begun deliveries of Protector RPAS to the RAF. Protector is a derivative of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian® and is initially being flown in the USA for training.

GA-ASI is training the first four Operational Conversion Units (OCUs), each comprising of eight crews, including pilots, sensor operators (SOs), and mission intelligence coordinators (MICs). Upon completion, the crews will operate the Protector Air system as part of 31, 54 or 56 Sqn. Training for the pilots and SOs is scheduled to run for 12 weeks; six weeks for MICs.

The scope of the training is focused on foundational skills required to operate the Protector air vehicle and its equipment, including the Multi-Spectral Targeting System (MTS), Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Mission Intelligence Station (MIS), and System for Tasking and Real-Time Exploitation (STARE). Training involves building solid foundations for both normal and emergency operations in Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems, instrument flying, and Automatic Takeoff and Landing Capability (ATLC).

The training includes simulation and live flight of the air vehicle. The synthetic training includes a desktop procedural trainer and a mission trainer.

“The training services performed at our Grand Forks center for the RAF represent an important benchmark for future MQ-9B training for other partners,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander.

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