In brief

• The Royal Air Force has used its Protector RG1 drone for the first time on operational flights over Russian naval activity near British shores.
• The unarmed drone monitored Russian vessels in the English Channel for more than 10 hours in late September and mid-October 2026.
• Royal Navy ships and helicopters worked alongside the drone, and the Ministry of Defence confirmed the operations have ended.

First operational flights over British airspace

The Royal Air Force began deploying the Protector RG1 reconnaissance drone in September, and it is the first time the aircraft has been used on operational missions to watch the Russian navy around British shores (Британія вперше залучила новітній розвідувальний дрон для збору даних про кораблі РФ – UNIAN) (Spies in the sky: RAF sends up drones for the first time to monitor the Russian navy around British shores | Daily Mail Online – dailymail.com). The flights took place between late September and mid-October 2026 (Британія вперше використала дрон Protector для спостереження за російськими кораблями – Апостроф – apostrophe.ua).

What the unarmed drone did

The drone stayed unarmed and was not expected to use weapons. It monitored Russian vessels in the area of the English Channel for more than 10 hours (Британський дрон уперше стежив за російськими кораблями над Ла-Маншем – radiosvoboda.org) (Британський дрон Protector уперше залучили до стеження за російським флотом – ukrinform.ua). Its data supported Royal Navy ships and helicopters working alongside it. The Ministry of Defence confirmed that the operations had already been completed.

Shadowing the Russian frigate and merchant ships

The drone was used alongside these ships to gather intelligence on their movements.

Squadron commander on wider role

Squadron commander Sam Hailey said the first operational flights showed the system could strengthen the country's defence. He added that the drone could contribute to maritime security while working in both military and civilian airspace.