British Army

The British Army is the United Kingdom's land warfare service, with approximately 73,000 regular personnel and a significant reserve component. It operates under Army HQ at Andover and is organised into combat brigades, including the 1st (UK) Armoured Division and 3rd (UK) Division. The Army is accelerating autonomous systems procurement through fast-track routes alongside the standard Defence Equipment Plan. In the air domain, it is the primary operator of the Watchkeeper WK450 tactical UAV and the designated end user for its Project Corvus replacement, tendered in May 2026 at GBP 130-156 million, and a participant in Project NYX, the Apache loyal-wingman assessment. On the ground, the Army awarded ARX Robotics a GEREON uncrewed ground vehicle production contract in April 2026 through Task Force RAPSTONE, the Army's fast-procurement route for autonomous systems, with ARX investing £45 million in UK capacity of up to 1,800 units per year using Devon-based Supacat as manufacturing partner.

The British Army has been an active user of drone systems since the Hermes 450 deployments in Afghanistan from 2007. Watchkeeper's in-service delays Left it without a purpose-built tactical UAV for years; the Corvus tender corrects that gap. The GEREON contract through Task Force RAPSTONE marks the Army's first substantial uncrewed ground vehicle commitment in the UK, following Ukraine's combat validation of the platform at the same time. The pairing of a wartime-proven UGV with a sovereign UK production line mirrors the Army's approach to drone procurement: adopt tested capability fast rather than wait for a bespoke development programme.

Under the UK's £4 billion autonomous systems commitment, the British Army is the largest prospective domestic end-user of new British drone and ground-robot capability. Task Force RAPSTONE's procurement pace, outside the normal Defence Equipment Plan, reflects MoD recognition that the Ukraine war is compressing the usual 10-15 year acquisition cycle.