Following the type’s first UK flight in November 2023, unmanned Protector RG1s, the UK designation for MQ-9B, are now conducting regular flights from their Lincolnshire base.
Over the past week, Protector RG1 PR009 has flown two short sorties in airspace around RAF Waddington – the first since the inaugural flight in 2023. The first new flight, taking place on Feb. 7. 2025, lasted approximately 20 minutes. A second, on Feb. 11, lasted around 30 minutes.
The aircraft was remotely controlled from RAF Waddington by personnel in a Certifiable Ground Control Station (CGCS). CGCS builds on the existing Ground Control Station (GCS) hardware used for MQ-9A Reaper UAVs by improving the operators’ situational awareness and reducing workload. Alongside the integration of civilian standard avionics equipment, this will allow CGCS units to control unmanned aircraft in regular airspace without extensive deconfliction from manned aircraft. The CGCS is offered as an upgrade to existing GCS facilities in service with MQ-9 operators worldwide.
A unique view inside one of RAF Waddington’s GCS units during an operational Reaper sortie over Iraq was recently shown by Channel 4 TV documentary Top Guns: Inside the RAF. The Royal Air Force additionally operated a GCS alongside the U.S. Air Force Reaper force at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, until 2022.
Control stations house the complex electronics and systems required to operate the remotely piloted Reaper drone.
The crew, who you will get to know through this episode, consists of a pilot, sensor operator, and mission intelligence coordinator.#TopGunsC4 pic.twitter.com/7UdlIgEUlW
— Royal Air Force (@RoyalAirForce) February 11, 2025
Four Protector RG1s have so far been delivered to RAF Waddington with three more being utilised in the United States for test and evaluation. The new UAVs have been assigned to 31 Squadron, the ‘Goldstars’, which was most recently a frontline Tornado GR4 unit. 31 Squadron is assisted in Protector’s operation by 54 Squadron and 56 Squadron, who are the RAF’s Operational Conversion Unit and Operational Evaluation Unit, respectively, for Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) personnel and aircraft.
Ground taxi testing of the Protector RG1 have seen the aircraft utilise 31 Squadron’s signature GOLDSTAR callsign, while flight tests have used 56 Squadron’s FIREBIRD callsign. Unlike the RAF’s MQ-9A Reapers, and in fact many frontline combat jets, the Protector RG1s are, at least for now, marked with high visibility squadron identifiers. The most visible of these are the green and yellow checkerboard squadron bars on the side of the fuselage.
Unlike the MQ-9A Reapers, which have spent their entire service lives flying from overseas locations, the Protector RG1’s certification to fly in un-segregated airspace will allow them to operate directly from UK airbases on a permanent basis.
The RAF says this will allow the Protector RG1 to be utilised for additional taskings, including Military Aid to Civil Authorities (MACA) missions, compared to Reaper. MACA is the framework that allows UK civilian government agencies to request the support of military personnel and capabilities. Reasons for MACA activations can range from supporting the security of large scale events, such as the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games, responding to emergencies and disasters like flooding or the COVID-19 pandemic, or reinforcing police security forces during terrorist incidents.
With an endurance of over 30 hours, and maximum service altitude of 40,000 feet, the Protector RG1s surveillance capabilities can cover an extraordinarily wide search area for a significant period of time. Aircraft will be delivered with the integrated electro-optical/infrared camera turret, as well as the General Atomics Lynx synthetic aperture radar, but these will almost certainly be assisted by a range of both classified and unclassified sensor payloads similar to those that have been noted in use by RAF Reapers.
UK MoD has released a series of new #Reaper imagery to mark 10 years of UK-based ops. The previously classified underfuselage blade antenna (SIGINT??) is clearly shown, as are new side-mounted (SAR/GMTI??) arrays I’ve not seen on any Reaper before… pic.twitter.com/iDfTnRriaV
— Gareth Jennings (@GarethJennings3) April 19, 2023
RAF plans will see Protector RG1 carry the famed Brimstone missile and Paveway IV laser guided bombs. Compared to Reaper, which typically carries up to four AGM-114 Hellfire missiles in UK service, the Protector will carry up to six Brimstone missiles on triple-rail launchers.
Future upgrades could see the SPEAR 3 missile integrated onto the UAV. SPEAR 3 will complement Brimstone and offer a greater range as well as a higher explosive yield compared to the Brimstone’s low collateral damage shaped warhead.
Reaper to Protector
Now in Phase 3 of the test and evaluation programme, the Protector is expected to enter operational RAF service by the end of 2025. Full operating capability (FOC) is, at present, scheduled to be declared in 2026. 16 Protector RG1s have been ordered, an increase compared to the Reaper fleet which at its maximum numbered around 10 aircraft.
The exact out of service date for the MQ-9A, if one is officially set at all, has yet to be revealed by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). It’s likely that the Reaper fleet will continue to serve for some time following the Protector’s initial entry to service, as they still offer a significant amount of capability for a comparatively small operating cost and crews and control stations could be shared amongst both fleets.
An RAF Reaper has provided vital intelligence to support the UK’s evacuation of British nationals & other eligible people by supplying real-time imagery to HMS Lancaster & teams from the UK Armed Forces, FCDO, & Border Force in Port Sudan.
Find out more: https://t.co/cIyFZnAOCV pic.twitter.com/5AtmdSxgSv
— Royal Air Force (@RoyalAirForce) May 3, 2023
On Feb. 6, 2025 a contract modification was awarded to General Atomics worth $26.6 million which will see the company provide “logistics support” to UK MQ-9A Reapers through the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. This contract is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2025.
The newest Reaper in the RAF fleet was reportedly ordered in 2021, seemingly as an attrition replacement. A number of RAF Reapers have been lost to incidents across their years of operation, although with the number of hours flown across such a small fleet the accident rate remains very low.
