UK Picks Tekever AR5 to Replace Watchkeeper in Programme Worth up to £400 Million
The UK Ministry of Defence has selected the Tekever AR5 to meet the British Army’s requirement for a long-range surveillance drone. According to the department’s official announcement of 24 July 2026, the programme could be worth up to £400 million across a ten-year structure.
The choice replaces the Watchkeeper fleet, in British Army service since 2014 and now nearing the end of its operational life. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said in the announcement that “we’ve chosen the UK-based Tekever AR5 drone to supply our personnel with kit that will keep them ahead of emerging threats.”
How many aircraft, and when?
Per Defence Industry Europe, the initial order covers six AR5 airframes, with the total potentially rising to 24 by 2029. First aircraft are expected in service later in 2026. The support and sustainment element runs for a minimum of five years with extension options. UK Defence Journal reports that the ministry values the initial five-year tranche at £136 million.
That breakdown matters: the £400 million headline is a ten-year ceiling inclusive of options and support, not a single committed outlay. The gap between firm commitment and maximum programme value is one of the most frequently conflated figures in defence procurement reporting.
A failed tender led to sole-source award
The route taken is as notable as the outcome. FlightGlobal reports that the ministry ran a competitive tender, Project Corvus, to identify a Watchkeeper successor. Eight bidders responded by the 13 February closing date — but the ministry judged none of the submissions suitable.
The requirement was then concluded through sole-source procurement with Tekever. A competition drawing no compliant bids typically signals either a specification that does not match what the market currently offers, or price and delivery expectations that bidders could not meet. The ministry has not detailed its reasons for rejecting the submissions.
What the AR5 offers
Open-source and manufacturer figures put the AR5’s maximum take-off weight at around 180 kilograms, with a 7.3-metre wingspan and a 4-metre fuselage. The twin-engine fixed-wing aircraft can stay airborne for up to 20 hours and carry up to 50 kilograms of surveillance payload.
It operates beyond line of sight via satellite communications and has automatic take-off and landing. A design suited to short and unprepared strips frees it from dependence on fixed base infrastructure. For comparison across this class, see our file on the world’s longest-endurance UAVs.
One distinction is worth drawing: 20 hours is a maximum endurance figure. Actual mission duration falls below it depending on payload weight, altitude and weather.
Built in Swindon, jobs in two regions
The aircraft will be manufactured at Tekever’s new production facility in Swindon. The ministry framed the programme as an investment supporting employment in South West England and Wales — part of a broader European pattern in which defence procurement is increasingly justified alongside domestic industrial capacity and jobs.
Tekever is Portuguese in origin but has established production and engineering capability in the UK. The AR5 has been used under UK contract to monitor small-boat crossings in the English Channel, and has seen operational use in Ukraine. Combat-theatre employment is among the factors a customer can read as a maturity indicator.
The wider picture
Europe’s medium-class ISR drone market has grown quickly in recent years, and Turkish manufacturers compete in it. Britain’s decision to favour a supplier producing on home soil illustrates how European states are shifting from off-the-shelf imports toward building capacity within their own borders.
For Turkish defence firms this cuts both ways. Direct platform exports face sharper competition, while joint production, subsystem supply and localisation models become the more viable routes to market. For other British moves in unmanned systems, see our report on the autonomous wingman drone programme for Apache helicopters.
Watchkeeper’s retirement also marks the closing of an era for Europe’s 2010s generation of tactical UAVs. Their successors are being built around longer endurance, satellite links and modular payload architectures.
Sources
- UK Ministry of Defence (GOV.UK) announcement – “Fleet of spy drones to equip British soldiers and back jobs in South West England and Wales” – 24 July 2026. Used for programme value, the Defence Secretary’s statement and the employment dimension. Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/fleet-of-spy-drones-to-equip-british-soldiers-and-back-jobs-in-south-west-england-and-wales
- FlightGlobal – “Tekever takes Corvus win to provide Watchkeeper UAV successor” – July 2026. Used for the failed Project Corvus tender and the move to sole-source procurement. Link: https://www.flightglobal.com/archive/2026/07/tekever-takes-corvus-win-to-provide-watchkeeper-uav-successor/
- Defence Industry Europe – “UK selects Tekever AR5 in up to £400 million Army drone programme” – 25 July 2026. Used for quantities, schedule, support term and AR5 technical data. Link: https://defence-industry.eu/uk-selects-tekever-ar5-in-up-to-400-million-army-drone-programme-as-europe-expands-battlefield-surveillance-and-domestic-production/
- UK Defence Journal – “British Army to replace Watchkeeper with Tekever AR5 drones” – 25 July 2026. Used for the initial five-year tranche and the Swindon production site. Link: https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/british-army-to-replace-watchkeeper-with-tekever-ar5-drones/
