Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the results of training flights using Watchkeeper WK450 tactical unmanned aerial vehicle systems in Estonia in August 2024.

A battery from 47^th Regiment Royal Artillery successfully deployed to Estonia this August to operate the Watchkeeper system as part of Exercise ATHENA SHIELD. This was a proof-of-concept exercise to fly Watchkeeper at the latest build standard, in a strategically relevant theatre.

Lessons from this deployment are still being analysed and no decisions about Watchkeeper’s future commitments have been made. While there are no current plans to permanently deploy a full Drone Regiment to Estonia, the recently updated defence roadmap with Estonia demonstrates the UK’s continuing commitment to Estonia and securing NATO’s eastern flank.