UK flies Protector drone on first home operation against Russian frigate

An RAF Protector RG1 remotely piloted aircraft has flown its first operational missions in UK airspace, giving the Royal Navy more than 10 hours of surveillance over the English Channel while warships tracked the Russian frigate Neustrashimy, the UK Ministry of Defence said.

The unarmed Protector flew alongside military and civilian air traffic while the Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless (D33) and offshore patrol vessel HMS Tyne (P281) monitored Neustrashimy and accompanying merchant ships through the Channel between Oct. 1 and Oct. 14. The ministry did not say how many sorties the aircraft flew, which sensors it used or how much of the frigate’s transit it covered.

“Protector’s first operational sorties in UK airspace demonstrate the significant value this capability brings to UK Defence. Working alongside Royal Navy vessels, it provided persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance coverage, highlighting its ability to operate seamlessly across military and civilian airspace in support of maritime security, NATO commitments and wider UK tasking,” said Wing Commander Sam Haley, officer commanding XIII Squadron.

Protector is the RAF’s version of General Atomics’ MQ-9B SkyGuardian, flown from RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire by 31 and XIII squadrons. The UK Military Aviation Authority issued it a military type certificate on April 29, 2025, clearing it to fly without geographic restrictions in UK airspace, and it entered service in June 2025 as the first remotely piloted aircraft authorized to do so. The MQ-9A Reaper it replaced never flew in UK airspace during its RAF career. The first of 16 Protectors arrived at RAF Waddington in 2023.

RAF Protector RG1 conducts its first flight in UK airspace from RAF Waddington, Nov. 17. Photo by AS(1) Amelia Turnbull RAF

The RAF lists the aircraft’s endurance at more than 30 hours and its ceiling at up to 40,000 feet (12,200 m), with full-motion video, infrared imagery, synthetic aperture radar and ground target tracking among its sensors. In June 2026, a Protector flew from Waddington to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus through European civil airspace, covering more than 2,000 nautical miles in about 13.5 hours.

The Channel mission was one of several Royal Navy operations against Russian ships between late September and mid-October. Merlin helicopters from Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose deployed to Glasgow Prestwick Airport under Operation Iceblast, a test of how quickly the Merlin force can operate away from its home base. From Sept. 29 to Oct. 8, they tracked the Vishnya-class intelligence-gathering ship Viktor Leonov near the Outer Hebrides, where NATO’s Exercise Strike Warrior was underway with more than 2,000 personnel from six nations.

From Oct. 11 to Oct. 14, HMS Tyne and a Wildcat helicopter from 815 Naval Air Squadron followed the Ropucha-class landing ship Aleksandr Shabalin, the cargo ship MV Energy-2 and the tug Proton through the Channel as they headed for the Baltic.

“HMS Dauntless monitored the movements of RFN Neustrashimy during her transit through the English Channel, contributing to the wider maritime picture and supporting UK maritime security,” said Commander Neil Skinner, commanding officer of HMS Dauntless.

Royal Navy activity monitoring Russian movements rose 25% in the first seven months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, the ministry said. Most of that work falls to patrol ships, frigates and helicopters; in January, HMS Mersey, HMS Severn and a Wildcat shadowed a Russian corvette and tanker through the same waters in a two-day operation coordinated with NATO allies.

“For the first time, Protector has joined Royal Navy warships and helicopters monitoring activity around our shores, demonstrating how we are constantly innovating to monitor and deter threats and irresponsible provocation,” said Defence Secretary Wes Streeting.

The ministry tied the operations to £298 billion (about $399 billion) in planned defense spending over the next four years and a commitment to reach 3% of GDP on defense in 2030. It also pointed to £330 million (about $442 million) over four years to protect undersea infrastructure and to Atlantic Bastion, a Royal Navy effort combining warships, patrol aircraft and autonomous systems against Russian submarines in the North Atlantic.