Whitehall Dialogue - The RAF's Armed Drone Programme: Synergies and Differences with the US Model

A presentation by Chris Woods, investigative journalist and author.

The UK has had unique access to the US Air Force's armed drone / Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) programme from as early as 2004, and remains the only country permitted to operate an independent armed Reaper MQ-9 capability.   

In his presentation, Chris Woods will discuss the RAF's early engagement with this potentially disruptive technology and the crucial role British pilots and sensor operators played under 'dual badging' arrangements in Iraq. He will discuss the capabilities of both the Predator and Reaper, and also explore the significant differences in Rules of Engagement which emerged between US and UK Reaper fleets in Afghanistan and the implications for non-combatants. 

Chris Woods is a widely published investigative journalist who specialises in conflict and national security issues. He is a former senior BBC Panorama producer who filmed with both British and American units in Iraq throughout the occupation and has authored some of the key investigations into covert US drone strikes and their effects. His new book Sudden Justice provides valuable insights into how the use of armed drones, by both conventional and special forces as well as by the CIA, has evolved during the ‘War on Terror’. He was awarded the Martha Gellhorn Journalism Prize in 2013 for his contribution to tracking CIA drone strikes and other US covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.

Chris will be on hand to sign copies of his latest book entitled Sudden Justice (Hurst and Co: April 2015), which will be on sale.

Refreshments will be served from 1515.

This event is ‘off the record’ and closed to the media.

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