RUSI 更换“守望者”：落后于时代的挑战

2025/5/1 11:50Replacing Watchkeeper:Staying Behind the Curve|Royal United Services Institutehttps:/www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/replacing-watchkeeper-staying-behind-curve1/6COMMENTARYReplacing Watchkeeper:Staying Behind the CurveRobert Tollast30 April 20256 Minute ReadThe British Army needs the ability to?nd targets in the corpsdeep,but an exquisite medium altitude long endurance droneis not the answer.The British Army is reviewing proposals for a reconnaissance drone toprovide Land Tactical Deep Find capability with 24-hour endurance underproject Corvus.As is found with newer platforms such as Elbits 650 Spark orDZYNE Technologies ULTRA,24 hour endurance,with related sensorpayloads,can only realistically be achieved by a UAV in the NATO Class 3Medium-Altitude Long Endurance(MALE)category.The decision to acquire such a drone is inconsistent with both the MODsassessment of the threat environment and data from contemporary con?icts.Corvus will replace the troubled Watchkeeper drone program which took 14years to reach full operational capability and was declared obsolete last yearby Minister of State Lord Coaker,who argued that lessons from Ukraineshowed t