Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to undertake a public evaluation of the effectiveness of detect and avoid technology, including its safety implications, prior to any certification being given for the Protector military drone to be integrated into UK airspace.

Detect and avoid technology standards are defined by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and Protector will be built and certified against those standards. Protector will be the first Remotely Piloted Air System (RPAS) to be designed, built and certified against stringent NATO and UK Safety Certification standards as required for all aircraft.