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Protector
FARNBOROUGH, England–Weapons testing for the UK Royal Air Force’s (RAF) new Protector uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) has been completed, paving the way for the service to be able to use the platform in a long-awaited strike role.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems finalized testing and qualified both the Raytheon Paveway IV precision-guided bomb and the MBDA Brimstone 3 air-to-surface missile on June 18, the airframer reported July 20 on the first day of the Farnborough Airshow here. It was the first time the company has taken a lead role in completing weapons qualification for a customer.
The trials were performed with UK defense ministry approval and met requirements for the safe carriage and release of weapons, the company said.
The successful tests pave the way for the RAF to begin flying armed operational missions with the Protector.
The service has deployed the Protector to Cyprus in support of UK operations against the remnants of the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria through a mission called Operation Shader. But it has been flying the platform in an unarmed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance configuration with various sensors.
The RAF had hoped to complete weapons testing in 2024, but the trials could not be finished because of an unforeseen closure of the U.S. Air Force Test Ranges required to clear the weapons, Aviation Week reported.
“The completion of U.S.-based safe-separation weapons testing is a landmark achievement for the Protector,” RAF Program Director Grp. Capt. Robert Evans said. “It demonstrates not only the maturity of the platform, but also the ability of the program to integrate advanced weapons with a cutting-edge, certified, remotely piloted air system.”
The UK is acquiring 16 Protectors, a minor-change derivative of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian, a certifiable development of the company’s MQ-9 Reaper/Predator B platform.
Protector was accepted into the RAF inventory at the end of 2022, secured its military type certificate (MTC) in May 2025, and replaced the MQ-9 Reaper UAS system, originally bought for operations in Afghanistan, last October. Deliveries of the new Protector to the RAF are continuing.
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