Tekever signs £264m deal to supply AR5 drones to British Army

Tekever has signed a contract with the UK Ministry of Defence to supply its AR5 uncrewed aerial vehicle as the British Army's long-term replacement for the Watchkeeper WK450 surveillance platform. The deal covers an initial batch of six aircraft.

The five-year agreement for the Project Corvus requirement is valued at £264 million including tax, according to the MoD's procurement notice. That figure could rise to £400 million if all contractual options are taken up.

The contract includes ground control stations, enough for two task lines that can each keep watch for 24 hours at a time. Options cover extra task lines and a further five years of support, contingent on the capability proving cost effective, the notice states.

Tekever won the Corvus requirement in July through a sole-source selection. A previous competition drew eight bidders but produced no suitable offer, the MoD said.

The government had set out an intention to buy as many as 24 platforms for delivery by 2029 in its Defence Investment Plan. Assembly of the Corvus AR5s will take place at a new Tekever factory in Swindon, southwest England, with flight testing at the company's West Wales airport site at Aberporth. Deliveries and entry into service begin this year.

Karl Brew, managing director of Tekever UK, said the programme represents a different way of delivering military capability that keeps pace with operational demands.