BAE Systems Phoenix The BAE Systems Phoenix ( originally GEC - Marconi Phoenix ) was an all - weather , day or night , real - time surveillance Unmanned Air Vehicle . It had a twin - boom UAV with a surveillance pod , from which the imagery was data linked to a ground control station ( GCS ) that also controlled the aircraft in flight . It was the third generation of UAV in British Army service with the Royal Artillery after SD / 1 and Canadair Midge . The Phoenix was a fairly typical combat surveillance UAV , powered by a 20 kW ( 26 hp ) piston engine , but is distinctive in that it is a " tractor " aircraft , with the propeller in the front . This tends to obstruct a sensor turret , and so the sensor payload , built around an infrared imager , was carried in a pod slung well under the fuselage . Phoenix was mostly made of Kevlar and other plastics . Phoenix was ' zero - length ' launch being projected into the air from a launch - rail mounted on the back of a truck . The launch rail having been originally developed for the US Army Aquilla UAV that failed to enter service . The Phoenix was recovered by parachute , landing on its back , with a crushable " hump " on the back taking up the impact . The zero - length take - off and landing was an essential requirement for operating in NATO ' s Central Region and deployment in a forward divisional area . Maximum flight time was around 4 hours . Phoenix sensors provided imagery direct to the GCS where it was analysed and reported to artillery headquarters , to command level , or to a Phoenix troop command post . The principal method of communication from the GCS to artillery on the ground was via the Battlefield Artillery Target Engagement System ( BATES ) . The UAV could be launched within an hour of reaching its launch site . A second UAV can be launched within a further eight minutes and up to two UAVs can be controlled from the same ground station . The name Phoenix was taken from Project Phoenix , a late 1970s study into surveillance and target acquisition needs after cancellation of the unsuccessful development of Westland MRUASTAS to replace AN / USD501 Midge . First flight was in 1986 , but introduction of the Phoenix was painfully delayed and the program attracted a good deal of criticism . The Phoenix saw limited operational use as part of the British contribution to Kosovo Force ( KFOR ) and in Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom . Phoenix attrition was high during the Iraq campaign , though British Army officials say it gave excellent service for artillery spotting , stating that some of the losses were due to deliberate sacrifices , in which the UAV was kept on station beyond the time it could be recovered rather than let targets get away . The system was operated by the 32nd Regiment Royal Artillery The final operational flight of the Phoenix was conducted by in May 2006 . The Phoenix was originally supposed to remain in service until 2013 , but the British felt they need something better , and set up an international competition designated " Watchkeeper " for a next - generation UAV system in 2002 . A group led by Thales Group of France won the competition in late 2004 , with the system built around the Elbit Hermes 180 tactical UAV and Elbit Hermes 450 endurance UAV , the Watchkeeper WK450 system . An interim system , Hermes 450 , was deployed operationally in 2007 . The 32nd Regiment Royal Artillery also uses the Desert Hawk UAV . The REME Museum of Technology has an airframe on permanent display outside the shop .