Written question asked by Mike Hancock (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 23 November 2000, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 29 November 2000. It was answered by Lord Spellar (Labour) on Wednesday, 29 November 2000 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what ISTAR capabilities are operational for the short range UAVs, Spectator (Formation) and Sender (Battle Group) in the Watchkeeper programme; what is the estimated cost and the timetable for development and production of the short range UAVs; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what ISTAR capabilities are operational for the short range UAVs, Spectator (Formation) and Sender (Battle Group) in the Watchkeeper programme; what is the estimated cost and the timetable for development and production of the short range UAVs; and if he will make a statement. [140710] Mr. Spellar: The Watchkeeper programme is currently assessing the mix of Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) which, alongside other assets, will be required to support future Formation level and Battle Group Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) requirements. In so doing, the assessment will determine the optimum range, or combination of range characteristics, to be specified for the UAVs. The Phoenix system, as the only UAV asset currently in the inventory, was originally procured with the primary function of providing a Target Acquisition and Surveillance capability but subsequently has shown sufficient flexibility to meet some other aspects of the ISTAR requirements. In undertaking the current assessment phase, the Watchkeeper programme is evaluating to what degree Phoenix may, or may not, contribute to the future UAV mix. Until the assessment phase is complete and all the options for providing the UAV contribution to the ISTAR capability have been evaluated, it will not be possible to give definitive estimates of either cost or time associated with the development and production of UAVs.

Secondary information