January 21st, 2025 
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By Caudillo:
Despre dronele Watchkeeper X am mai scris, respectiv ca nu se stie cand vor fi livrate Romaniei, Elbit invocand motive de forta majora.
Conform Wikipedia,
The Watchkeeper X is a high-performance, tactical, unmanned aircraft system developed by Thales and Elbit. It is the export variant of the Thales Watchkeeper WK450, derived from the Hermes 450
Tot din Wikipedia mai aflam
The Watchkeeper WK450 is based on the Elbit Hermes 450 UAV and is built in the UK by a joint venture company, UAV Tactical Systems (U-TacS), set up by the Israeli company Elbit Systems (51% ownership) and the Thales group.
at the end of 2005 a joint venture company was established, named “UAV Tactical Systems Ltd (U-TacS)”, based in Leicester to manufacture the Watchkeeper
Doar ca Elbit a avut niste probleme in UK si in 10.01.2022 anunta o reoganizare
Haifa, Israel, January 10, 2022 – Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT and TASE: ESLT) (“Elbit Systems” or the “Company”) announced today that its UK subsidiary, Elbit Systems UK Ltd. (“Elbit Systems UK”), has sold the Power and Control Business of its subsidiary Ferranti Technologies Ltd. (“Ferranti”), to TT Electronics (UK) Plc. (LSE: TTG.L) for approximately $12 million (approximately £9 million) in cash, subject to customary post-completion working capital adjustments.
The remaining business of Ferranti, including training and simulation, avionics, display systems, aircrew survival systems, platform protection and computing, are planned to be integrated into Elbit Systems UK.
Martin Fausset, CEO of Elbit Systems UK, said: “This reorganization is part of our strategy to focus activities on certain areas in order to support the continuous expansion of our operations and collaborations in the UK.”
“Reorganizarea “ nu a fost intamplatoare, a survenit ca urmare a activitatii militantilor propalestinieni
After 18 months of sustained direct action taken at the Elbit Ferranti site in Oldham, Greater Manchester, with 36 people arrested, Elbit have now sold Ferranti technologies, with its continued operation in Oldham appearing unfeasible. Activists have occupied, blockaded, smashed, disrupted, and protested regularly at the site, ultimately succeeding in ending the factory’s production of specialist military technologies for Israel’s fleet of combat drones.
The first action taken in Oldham by Palestine Action, in late August 2020, involved spraying premises in blood-red paint, symbolising the Palestinian bloodshed made possible with Elbit Ferranti technologies. Following this, actions accelerated. Windows were smashed in an occupation in November 2020, while an action taken in collaboration with XR North in February 2021 caused over £20,000 in damages. In April 2021, activists not only occupied the site but gained entry to the factoy, smashing the roof, windows, air vents, and undermining future operations by covering equipment and computers in red paint – over £100,000 of damages were caused, and the site remained shut for well over a week. On July 5th, three activists gained entry to the site, allegedly causing £500,000 of damage and closing the factory for a number of weeks. More recently, in August of this year, activists blockaded the factory – blocking roads with vehcles and locking onto gates – and occupied the factory itself again. There have been a number of other actions taken at the Oldham site, with the factory forced to closed for a significant number of weeks in total due to damage caused.
Am remarcat ca actiunile militantilor propalestinieni nu s-au oprit aici, de Craciunul din 2024 au dat cu ciocanul in zidurile fabricii Elbit din Shenstone :
From 12.30PM on Christmas day, Palestine Action begun breaking through the walls of Elbit’s UAV Engines’ (UEL) Shenstone drone factory. Palestine Action have repeatedly targeted the Lynn Lane production site, and today, from within two buckets attached to two cherry pickers, a dedicated team of activists are using demolition tools to target the factory walls. The drivers have secured themselves inside the two vehicles, using lock-ons to remain in position, allowing more time to put the Israeli weapons maker out of commission.
Israel’s largest weapons firm, Elbit Systems, use the Staffordshire site to design and manufacture Wankel-type rotary engines, which have been used to power Israel’s Hermes killer drone fleet, bringing misery and death to the children of Gaza, to whom the ‘Season of Goodwill’ does not extend. In addition to producing engines for Elbit’s 450 drone, the UEL AR731 rotary engines produced at Shenstone, are also used in the Israeli Aerospace Industries (IMI) Harop Kamikase drone, which is currently being upgraded to kill autonomously.
Si au fost vizate si alte firme de catre militantii propalestinieni :
Palestine Action have struck at the Edinburgh Leonardo plant on numerous occasions since October 2023, including through occupations, blockades, and acts of sabotage.
Problemele pentru Watchkeeper se amplifica odata cu declaratia ministrului apararii din UK, pe care o gasim pe site-ul Parlamentului britanic, 2011.2024 :
The Army’s Watchkeeper Mk 1 Uncrewed Aerial System will be retired from service from March 2025. Watchkeeper Mk 1 was introduced in 2010. Since then, drone technology has advanced at a rapid rate, accelerated by prolific use throughout the war in Ukraine. A modern army must self-evidently have a modern drone capability able to operate in the most challenging environments. Following the retirement of Watchkeeper Mk 1, the Army will rapidly switch to a new advanced capability, drawing on the most recent operational lessons and technological developments.
Declaratia a fost salutata de militantii propalestinieni
“Elbit losing its biggest contract signifies the beginning of the end for the Israeli weapons maker’s presence in this country,” a spokesperson for the group said on Friday
The end of Elbit’s Leicester factory?
Since it was founded in 2020, Palestine Action has repeatedly targeted UAV Tactical Systems’ drone factory in Leicester with direct action and mass campaigns.
Between the early scrapping of the UK’s Watchkeeper fleet and the continued targeting of the Leicester plant by Palestine Action, the future of UAV Tactical Systems must surely now be in doubt.
“Direct action undertaken by hundreds of activists has consistently disrupted the operations of Elbit Systems,” the Palestine Action spokesperson said.
This had led to “significant delays in its production, as well as damage to weaponry. There’s no doubt that direct action works, and it’s more necessary than ever to deploy effective tactics against the Israeli war machine.”
N-as putea zice daca exista vreo legatura intre actiunile impotriva Elbit si decizia ministrului apararii britanic , chiar si in articolul de mai sus se precizeaza :
What he didn’t point out was that, unlike the rest of the “aging” equipment, Watchkeeper’s originally planned retirement date was still almost two decades away: 2042.
The drone has been described in the British media as “troubled” or – to quote Sky News – “beset by delays, cost overruns and flaws.”
As the UK Defence Journal put it, “the system often struggled to meet operational requirements.”
That may just be a euphemistic way to write that the drone couldn’t fly well in Europe’s bad weather.
Watchkeeper drones “struggle to operate in poor weather conditions – limiting their utility,” Sky reported.
Tot pe site-ul Parlamentului britanic mai gasim un raport despre dronele Watchkeeper, 8 martie 2023, din care citez:
Written evidence submitted by Mr David C
My Role
1. Between July 2020 and July 2022, I was the Watchkeeper Remotely Piloted Air System (RPAS) In-Service Capability Manager within the Joint Helicopter Command (JHC).
2. My role was to manage the capability to upkeep and upgrade the equipment to deliver the defense tasks for Watchkeeper. It involved daily contact directly with DE&S and therefore I feel credible to comment and respond to the call for evidence.
3. It quickly became apparent that Watchkeeper RPAS was a failing program in which a catalogue of errors had led to a Capability that was not delivering for Defence but was costing the taxpayer billions. Watchkeeper RPAS seemed to be the only defence programme that was in three states simultaneously; Still being delivered, In-service and awaiting a midlife upgrade. I will use this letter to outline my perspective on how this programme reached a failed state.
4. The words and opinions below are my own and do not represent any official position. I will be using data that was relevant between 2020 and 2022 which will give an insight into the issues. This data may be superseded by more current data. I no longer work in the Watchkeeper Capability Manager role, should you request more current evidence please email my successor on JHC-CapMan-ISCM-Mailbox@mod.gov.uk.
7. Fundamentally, by 2018 the procurement of Watchkeeper had already taken 9 years of development and couldn’t deliver the primary functional capability that Defence required. I cannot explain why the MOD accepted this as Fully Operationally Capable
14. At a rate of 6000hrs per annum the MOD would have expected the Watchkeeper drone to have delivered ~ 18000 hrs between FOC in Nov 2018 and Nov 22. In reality the Watchkeeper programme has delivered only 1191 hrs over this time period. Representing 6.6% of the desired output.
15. If the watchkeeper cannot fly then the pilots cannot train. If the pilots cannot train, they cannot prove the base capability and develop and integrate it further. Without proving its capability, Watchkeeper is not trusted as a reliable capability by the MOD.
16. Why the low flying rate? Fundamentally, as DE&S did not deliver the capability required from Watchkeeper, it could not be operated effectively by the users. 47 Regiment Royal Artillery (47 RA) are the only MOD unit to operate the watchkeeper. They were placed in an unwinnable position:
a. There was only enough sustainment (logistics, spares, aircraft maintainers) to maintain a small forward fleet. Therefore only 13 from 54 aircraft were in the forward fleet. The remainder of the useable fleet were in storage.
b. As the aircraft capability was not delivered as planned, it had a lot of restrictions on its flight envelope. This was further restricted after several crashes. The RTS (Release to Service document) severely limits the watchkeepers ability to fly in the UK.
This is due to three requirements:
(1) Limitations on flying over populated areas.
(2) Limitations on flying in congested airspace.
(3) Limitations on flying in poor weather.
As a consequence, the Watchkeeper capability could not be trained in the UK and a permanent overseas flying location was required.
c. 7 notable incidents have resulted in vast periods where the Watchkeeper Capability was grounded and not available for the users to train on.
d. RAF Akrotiri was allocated by the MOD for Watchkeeper to use as a permeant overseas training location. RAF Akrotiri is the busiest MOD Airfield outside the UK. Watchkeeper was considered a low priority user and could not operate while other aircraft where in the airspace. As a result, Watchkeeper was limited to only fly Monday – Thursday, at night, for a 6 hour flying window.
17. Watchkeeper Mid life Extension. Due to obsolescence with the hardware and security concerns regarding the operating system (it runs on Windows XP) the watchkeeper is about to undergo a Mid Life Extension. This will not improve the capability in anyway, it will only increase the likelihood of being able to satisfy the initial KURs. The Midlife extension will cost the MOD ~£225M, not deliver any improved capability to the user and will only compensate for errors in the initial procurement.
18. To add insult to injury, further obsolesce is forecast. This Midlife extension will only extend the service life to 2033, however Watchkeeper currently has an out of service date of 2042, so a further Midlife Extension will be required as an estimated cost of ~£200M
24. Conclusion. By the time I worked with DE&S on the Watchkeeper program, it was clear that foundations of the programme were so porous, and the capability was so poor that there was little hope in delivering on Capability expectations for the MOD. Therefore, over time, expectations were reduced and the general feeling of most people involved from DE&S (and reflected in JHC) was that we were all nursing the watchkeeper to a slow death. We all expected the capability to be cut in the Integrated Review 2021, however we were all shocked when it wasn’t.
Fiecare cititor poate citi integral “written evidence” a lui David C, o poate interpreta cum doreste, precizez mai jos ce este DE&S :
Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) is proud to deliver world-class equipment and support services to the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force. We play a critical role in keeping our nation safe and prosperous, making sure the front-lines have the right kit at the right time.
What we do
As an arm’s length body of the Ministry of Defence, we negotiate and manage defence contracts on behalf of the UK Armed Forces.
From fighter jets to food deliveries, from patrol boats to protective clothing, we deliver effective and innovative kit to our front-line forces, swiftly and safely. Our teams make sure every item is properly sourced, stored and maintained, and every contract represents value for money for the taxpayer.
David C. afirma ca Watchkeeper are niste “Limitations on flying in poor weather “ si dronele Watchkeeper au trebuit relocate la baza RAF Akrotiri/Cipru, chestiune care nu ne avantajeaza , nu putem sa le cerem rusilor sa ne atace doar vara.
Nu stiu ce as putea concluziona despre Watchkeeper, ar trebui ca MApN-ul sa vina cu niste precizari despre aceasta achizitie, ce am cumparat, cand intra in dotare dronele si in ce conditii aceste drone pot fi folosite in Romania.
Logic vorbind, cei care cunosc cel mai bine dronele, sau orice alt tip de armament, sunt cei care le produc si le folosesc, in cazul Watchkeeper, MOD UK.
Asa ca nu e imbucurator pentru noi aceasta retragere din serviciu a dronelor Watchkeeper, motivele pot fi tehnice,cat si politice, poate ca britanicii s-au saturat de incidentele la fabricile Elbit din UK.
Pentru Romania ar putea fi o oportunitate, respectiv relocarea productiei Watchkeeper din UK in Romania, evident cu riscul ca sa vina activistii propalestinieni si pe aici, dar nu cred ca Jandarmeria Romana e la fel de toleranta ca fortele de ordine britanice, sa admire daramarea unui zid.
Problema e ce anume relocam, ca daca dronele noastre au aceleasi probleme ca dronele UK, nu ne avantajeaza aceasta relocare, cu tot cu dronele care se vor produce aici, o clarificare a MApN-ului despre ce anume am cumparat e absolut necesara.
Pentru ca desi se fac presiuni pentru cresterea cheltuielior militare, Trump doreste 5 % din PIB la aparare pentru statele NATO, a mai venit si “amicul “ Rutte cu o declaratie “deosebita” „Cheltuiți mai mult pentru apărare sau puneți-vă pe învățat rusa ori plecați în Noua Zeelandă”
asta nu inseamna ca trebuie sa cumparam orice armament doar ca sa indeplinim conditia lui Trump.
Ca riscam sa ajungem la fel ca in 1940 , cand generalul Iacobici afirma dupa pierderea granitelor :
“Inzestrarea Armatei, in loc de a fi fost o actiune de satisfacere a cerintelor Marelui Stat Major ,singurul organ competent pentru a stabili nevoile Armatei devenise, in mare parte o actiune de satisfacere a unor interese politice internationale, sau a unor interese comerciale particulare, facute pe spatele Tarii.”
Autor: Caudillo
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