Overview
- The Ministry of Defence announced on Monday that it has selected Tekever’s AR5 as the British Army’s Watchkeeper replacement with an initial order of six aircraft and expectations of up to 24 by 2029 under a programme worth up to £400 million over the next decade.
- The AR5 is a twin‑engine, unarmed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform with company figures of about 100 km/h cruise speed, roughly 20 hours endurance and a payload capacity near 50 kg, designed for persistent land, maritime and border surveillance.
- Tekever plans to build the aircraft in a new Swindon production facility envisioned to open in summer 2026, and the MoD says the contract will sustain and create UK defence jobs and capacity.
- The choice follows a failed tender process for the Army’s Land Tactical Deep Find requirement and the MoD’s judgment, informed by combat lessons from Ukraine, that the older Watchkeeper fleet was no longer fit for operational purpose.
- Key programme details remain unresolved: entry to service is slated for later in 2026 but depends on contract signature and approvals, some media reports cite different airframe counts and per‑unit costs, and the award could reshape UK defence manufacturing and future drone survivability priorities.