Overview
- An RAF Protector RG1 flew its first operational missions over UK airspace in mid‑October, providing more than ten hours of persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance over the English Channel.
- The unarmed drone operated alongside Royal Navy warships and helicopters while ships including HMS Dauntless and HMS Tyne tracked the Russian frigate Neustrashimy during operations between late September and mid‑October.
- Protector is certified to fly routinely in UK civilian airspace, is controlled from RAF Waddington, and carries long‑endurance sensors such as full‑motion video, infrared and synthetic aperture radar that allow sustained monitoring.
- The sorties form part of a wider uptick in Royal Navy activity against Russian movements — the MoD says monitoring rose 25% in the first seven months of 2026 — and follow the boarding and seizure of a sanctioned Russian tanker in UK waters earlier this year.
- Defence officials see Protector as a force multiplier that can free manned patrols and cut costs, but analysts warn of new threats from ship‑launched drones and to undersea infrastructure that require more ships, sensors and undersea monitoring funds.