Watchkeeper WK450

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Elbit Hermes 450 UAV, upon which the Watchkeeper WK450 is based.

Watchkeeper WK450 is a £800 million contract awarded in July 2005 to Thales to provide the British Army with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for all weather, Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) use.

The Watchkeeper is to be based on the Elbit Hermes 450 UAV (designated WK450). The engine will be the rotary Wankel engine. It is intended to enter service in 2010. It will have a weight of 450 kg and a payload capacity of 150 kg, and will have a typical endurance of 17 hours.

The Watchkeeper will be built in the UK by a joint venture company, UAV Tactical Systems, set up by the Israeli company Elbit Systems (51% ownership) and Thales UK. UAV Engines Ltd, who will build the rotary engine in the UK, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Elbit Systems.[1] The majority Israeli ownership has caused some unexpected problems obtaining U.S. export authorisation for some components.[2]

On July 15th 2007 The UK MOD revealed to IT and Science website The Registerthat 54 watchkeepers will be delivered to the British Army. The average cost to the taxpayer is therefore £800m divided by 54 aricraft, approximately £15m per platform. [3] These UAV's will be powered by the UK based company ABSL Power Solutions with high power high-energy lithium ion batteries which will be developed with production commencing end of 2008.