Britain’s unmanned ambition

Tim Ripley looks at the Royal Air Force Protector project that will take the UK remotely piloted air system capability forward. A computer-generated image of an RAF Protector armed with Brimstone missiles and Paveway bombs. The MOD is investing £100m to integrate the MBDA Brimstone 2 and Raytheon Paveway IV dual-mode guided bomb. MBDA/Andrea Izzotti In August 2015, a Royal Air Force General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted air system (RPAS) carried out the first-ever missile strike against British-born members