§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the progress his Department has made in the development of unmanned aerial vehicles. [51161]
§ Mr. SpellarGood progress continues to be made on the Phoenix unmanned air vehicle and on training the regiments that will use it. I expect the system to be in service by the end of this year, providing target acquisition support to our artillery systems. We are also examining the potential of unmanned air vehicles in the context of meeting longer-term requirements, including battlefield reconnaissance and the future offensive air system.