First NATO Protector Managers’ Course graduate at RAF Waddington
March 10, 2025
The Protector Managers’ Course is intended to provide RAF and the Belgian Air Force Engineering Managers with enough air system knowledge to be able to make engineering decisions on the airworthiness of the Protector Certifiable Ground Control Station and Air Vehicle. It provides a theoretical and practical overview of the system.
The Protector programme will deliver a cutting edge Remotely Piloted Air Systems for the UK, replacing the RAF’s Reaper capability. Protector is the first remotely piloted aircraft certified and capable of flying in the UK in all classes of airspace.
The first Certifiable Ground Control Station and simulator have been delivered and installed at RAF Waddington and the first Air Vehicle (AV) was delivered in September 2023. There are currently four AVs in the UK with a further three being used for test and evaluation in the USA.
RAF Waddington is the home of UK ISR/ISTAR and the ongoing Protector test and evaluation programme is being flown from the station under the supervision of No.56 (Test & Evaluation) Squadron, supported by No.s 31 and 54 Squadrons, prior to operational service with the RAF.
The Protector will introduce a unique long-endurance intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance capability to UK Defence, and one that will be capable of global deployment with minimal on-site support, providing unmatched versatility for certain missions.
Group Captain Rich Long, Protector International Lead & Chair MIC SP said that: “NATO Flight Training Europe is one of NATO’s High Visibility Projects to ensure that the Alliance is able to train aircrews to meet the security challenges of today and of the future. The co-operation between Belgium and the UK regarding MQ-9B training is an example of sharing training capacity to not only meet shared defence priorities, but to also enhance interoperability between Nations. These are the first NFTE patches that have been awarded to trainees on completion of a course at an NFTE training campus, and we hope to be able to present many more in the future as our co-operation continues.”
