RAF’s Protector force marks operational milestone in Middle East
Reaper successor has already ‘proven to be a vital ISTAR asset’, service says.
The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) has marked an early operational milestone with its General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Protector RG1 fleet, after completing 1,000 flight hours on deployment to the Middle East region.
“Protector has already proven to be a vital intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance [ISTAR] asset since its first operational flight in 2025,” says Air and Space Commander Air Marshal Mark Flewin.
“It played a key role in supporting the protection of RAF personnel, UK allies and partners during recent escalation in the Middle East by delivering critical overwatch and timely information to senior decision makers,” he adds.
Images released by the service on 30 October show the Protector carrying a large pod beneath its starboard wing – the RAF declines to detail the payload, however, attributing this to “operational security”.
Another image shows the uncrewed aircraft carrying the pod, plus a single Raytheon UK Paveway IV bomb carried under its port wing. The 226kg (500lb) weapon provides an all-weather precision strike capability.
Protector is pictured carrying Outdragon signals intelligence-gathering pod and Paveway IV precision-guided bomb. Source: Crown Copyright
Although not shown in the released images, the Protector also can be flown armed with MBDA Brimstone 3A air-to-surface missiles.
Fielded operationally in mid-2025, the MQ-9B-based Protector delivers an enhanced replacement capability for the RAF’s earlier-generation Reaper air vehicles. Home based at the service’s Waddington ISTAR hub in Lincolnshire, the type is flown by its 31 Sqn.
The new model has been deployed on operations in the Middle East since last November, flown from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
“Equipped with sensors for full-motion video, infrared imagery, synthetic aperture radar, and ground target tracking, it supports long-duration missions,” the service says. The Protector has a cited mission endurance of over 40h.
All 16 of the RAF’s ordered examples have been delivered, with 11 of those aircraft having been transferred to the UK and the remainder supporting training activities in the US.
The service notes that in addition to its deployed commitments, the Protector force also has during the last year been involved in “weapons certification and preparations for future maritime surveillance tasking”.
Additionally, the UK has for the first time employed a Protector in support of the Royal Navy in monitoring Russian vessels in the English Channel.
“The remotely piloted aircraft demonstrated its ability to provide persistent surveillance in support of operations while flying alongside other military and civilian air traffic,” the service says. That included the Protector “providing more than 10h of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance coverage”, it adds.
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