SN06493.pdf — page 9

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Overview of military drones used by the UK armed forces 
How many are there? 
The UK operates five different types remotely piloted aircraft systems. 
Latest figures available are: 10 Reaper (as of June 2015); 29 
Watchkeeper (8 aircraft in the forward fleet and 21 in storage as of 26 
March 2015)13; 222 Desert Hawk III and 324 Black Hornet (as of 1 April 
2013).14 The numbers for the latter three systems are the latest available 
but should not be relied upon as reflecting the current fleet. 
Worldwide it is estimated there are only a handful of medium-altitude, 
long-endurance RPAS types in the world and some states that have 
Reaper, like Italy, do not arm them. Ulrike Esther Franke estimates the 
total number of MALE remotely piloted aircraft in use around the world 
to be about a thousand, and that includes the largely unknown number 
of MALE UAVs in Israeli, Chinese and Iranian military arsenals. By 
contrast, she says, there are tens of thousands of smaller, tactical drones 
(sometimes called mini or micro UAVs).15  
Why are they controversial? 
The Birmingham Policy Commission neatly encapsulated why RPAS are 
so controversial: “everything about drone technology is contested: its 
novelty, legality, morality, utility and future development. Even the 
choice of what to call such systems is value-laden.”16 These issues are 
explored in sections 6, 7 and 8 and of this briefing note. 
Current British doctrine 
Joint Doctrine Publication 0-30 UK Air and Space Doctrine, published on 
13 July 2013, is the highest level statement of UK air and space 
doctrine. It replaces Air Publication (AP) 3000: British air and space 
power doctrine.  
In March 2013 the MoD’s thinktank, the Development, Concepts and 
Doctrine Centre, published a Joint Doctrine Note in March 2011 
entitled: the UK Approach to Unmanned Aircraft Systems (JDN 2/11, 
March 2011). The MoD told the Defence Committee some of the issues 
raised in this JDN have been incorporated into the new JDP 0-30. JDN 
2/11 will be withdrawn once the 2015 SDSR is published. 
The Ministry added the new Future Operating Environment 2035 
programme will examine issues with remote and automatic systems 
across defence. At the time of writing Future Operating Environment 
2035 has not been published.17  
 
                                                                                             
13  PQ225370, 26 March 2015. The Forward Fleet comprises aircraft which are 
serviceable and those which are short-term unserviceable; The numbers recorded as 
being in “Storage” are airworthy aircraft that are currently in temporary storage. 
14  Defence Committee, Remote Control: Remotely Piloted Air Systems – current and 
future UK use, 25 March 2014, HC 772 2013-14, Ev 1 
15  M Aaronson and A Johnson, Hitting the target? How new capabilities are shaping 
international intervention, RUSI Whitehall Report 2-13, March 2013, p21 
16  Birmingham Policy Commission, The security impact of drones: challenges and 
opportunities for the UK, October 2014, p14 
17  Defence Committee, Remote Control: Remotely Piloted Air Systems – current and 
future use: Government response, 22 July 2014, HC 611 2013-14, para 3