The Thales Watchkeeper WK450 is an unmanned aerial vehicle built for the British Army to carry out intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance work. It is a development of the Israeli Hermes 450 drone and was produced in Britain by UAV Tactical Systems, a joint venture of Elbit Systems and Thales based in Leicester, which Elbit took over completely in January 2026. Compared with the Hermes 450 flown by the army, it carries a synthetic aperture radar and ground moving target indication system as well as an electro-optical sensor, so it can see through bad weather. It has a takeoff weight of 485 kilograms, a payload capacity of 150 kilograms, a typical endurance of fourteen hours and a Wankel rotary engine. After a first flight in 2010 and years of delay it reached full operational capability in November 2018. A planned retirement in 2025 was postponed, and it is now due to leave service in March 2027.
Facts
Engine Class Maximum Mass (kg) Comparison
Body StyleAircraft (no road body style) 1 Connections
Derived From
Source Thales Watchkeeper WK450 (Wikipedia)
Exemplifies
Source Thales Watchkeeper WK450 (Wikipedia)
Of Make
Source Thales Watchkeeper WK450 (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Manufactured By
Also in Business Atlas: the manufacturer of this subject.
Source Thales Watchkeeper WK450 (Wikipedia)Overview, builderQuote, Overview, builder
set up by the Israeli company Elbit Systems (51% ownership) and the Thales group
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source Thales Watchkeeper WK450 (Wikipedia)Overview, builder, country of origin (2)Quote, Overview, builder, country of origin (2)
set up by the Israeli company Elbit Systems
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source Thales Watchkeeper WK450 (Wikipedia)Overview, builder, country of originQuote, Overview, builder, country of origin
is built in the UK by a joint venture company
Sources
1. Thales Watchkeeper WK450 (Wikipedia)
Overview, first flight
since the first flight in 2010
Lead
The Thales Watchkeeper is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
Overview, engine
uses a rotary Wankel engine provided by UAV Engines Ltd
Overview, retirement date
Watchkeeper would not be retired in 2025 but would be used through till March 2027
Overview, takeoff weight
takeoff weight of 485
Overview, builder
set up by the Israeli company Elbit Systems (51% ownership) and the Thales group
Overview, builder, country of origin
is built in the UK by a joint venture company
Overview, builder, country of origin (2)
set up by the Israeli company Elbit Systems
View the SourceReader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.