Role & capabilities
- Long-endurance surveillance
- Intelligence collection
- UK production programme
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Developer / manufacturer
- TEKEVER
- Origin / production countries
- Portugal / United Kingdom
- Other names
- No additional names recorded
- Variants / configurations
- AR5 maritime configurations; UK replacement programme configuration
- Operators / programme customers
- European Maritime Safety Agency contracted operations; UK Ministry of Defence replacement programme — order
Evidence & current status
The cited order or production decision is distinct from delivery, operational acceptance and the eventual fleet size.
Platform and market role
The AR5 is a TEKEVER fixed-wing surveillance aircraft offered for maritime patrol, land observation, border monitoring and search and rescue. The company describes a modular platform whose cameras, radar and other equipment can be selected for different customers. It occupies a different practical category from a backpack multirotor: the AR5 uses an airstrip and supports longer-duration collection over wider areas.
TEKEVER's public brochure describes twin engines, automated take-off and landing, and satellite connectivity. Those are platform characteristics, while particular payloads and software belong to named configurations. The availability of an option in a brochure is not evidence that it is included in every purchased aircraft.
UK procurement and programme status
On 16 September 2026 the UK Ministry of Defence announced an AR5 contract worth up to £400 million to replace Watchkeeper. The announcement specified an initial six aircraft, with the possibility of increasing the fleet to 24 by 2029, and identified production at a new Swindon facility.
This establishes a contract and planned acquisition path. It does not establish that the maximum contract value has been spent, that every optional aircraft has been ordered, or that the complete fleet has been delivered. The same release refers to previous AR5 use by Ukraine, but supplies no detailed configuration or independently measured performance results for that use.
Maritime configurations
A separate TEKEVER announcement describes a framework agreement with the European Maritime Safety Agency. The company identifies a configuration with up to 12 hours of endurance and a selection of visual, thermal and maritime sensors. It also describes civilian maritime work including fisheries oversight, environmental monitoring and rescue support. This evidence helps explain why the AR5 appears in both defence and civil-security markets.
The EMSA statement is a supplier account of that contract. Its mission equipment and endurance should not be assumed to match the British Army's eventual configuration.
How to compare the numbers
The current product page advertises 20 hours of endurance, while the maritime and defence brochure specifies 16–20 hours depending on payload for its AR5 Deep Find material. The EMSA figure is lower again. These figures are not averaged into a single claim here because their configuration labels explain meaningful differences.
The specification table identifies the underlying documents and qualifications. TEKEVER also uses the word unlimited for satellite communications reach; that does not mean unlimited aircraft range or endurance. A complete, publicly disclosed specification for the delivered British Army configuration was not established from the reviewed sources. Its exact equipment fit, acceptance schedule and directly comparable whole-system cost therefore remain open questions.
Catalogue scope
The detailed source review below remains the baseline. This catalogue update adds consistent identification and comparison fields without replacing configuration-specific facts or treating an undisclosed value as zero.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Fixed-wing remotely piloted aircraft | Published supplier specification; configuration and conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Launch / recovery | Runway operation | Broad configuration described in the linked manufacturer programme source. Source ↗ |
| Propulsion | Twin-engine fixed-wing platform | Broad configuration described in the linked manufacturer programme source. Source ↗ |
| Dimensions | Published dimensions: 7.3 × 4.0 m | Configuration-specific figures retained from the reviewed reference profile. Source ↗ |
| Mass | Maximum take-off mass: 180 kg | Configuration-specific figures retained from the reviewed reference profile. Source ↗ |
| Endurance | Advertised endurance: 20 hours | Configuration-specific figures retained from the reviewed reference profile. Source ↗ |
| Range | Not established from the reviewed sources. | Public data gap; no estimate substituted. Follow the source for subsequent releases. Source ↗ |
| Speed | Published cruise speed: 100 km/h | Configuration-specific figures retained from the reviewed reference profile. Source ↗ |
| Altitude | Not established from the reviewed sources. | Public data gap; no estimate substituted. Follow the source for subsequent releases. Source ↗ |
| Payload | Published payload capacity: 50 kg | Configuration-specific figures retained from the reviewed reference profile. Source ↗ |
| Sensors | Configuration-specific intelligence sensor suite; see programme description | Published supplier specification; configuration and conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Communications / navigation | Long-range maritime surveillance communications; configuration dependent | Broad configuration described in the linked manufacturer programme source. Source ↗ |
| Published dimensions | 7.3 × 4.0 m | Product-page dimensions; axes are not separately labelled there. Source ↗ |
| Published cruise speed | 100 km/h | Manufacturer figure; configuration and conditions matter. Source ↗ |
| Published payload capacity | 50 kg | Capacity, not a statement of installed mission equipment. Source ↗ |
| Maximum take-off mass | 180 kg | Current linked brochure; older literature differs. Source ↗ |
| Advertised endurance | 20 hours | General product-page figure; not universal across configurations. Source ↗ |
| Deep Find endurance | 16–20 hours | Brochure range depending on installed payload. Source ↗ |
| EMSA configuration endurance | Up to 12 hours | Supplier's stated EMSA configuration; distinct from general advertising. Source ↗ |
Documented milestones
UK Ministry of Defence announces AR5 award
Initial six aircraft announced, with a possible total of 24 by 2029. The maximum fleet size is a procurement plan, not a delivered count.
Read the announcement ↗
Publication history
- — Expanded catalogue profile with sourced specifications, variant distinctions, programme evidence and explicit public data gaps.
- — Expanded profile with attributed specifications, programme history and evidence limitations.
Suggest a correction to this entry →
Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.
- TEKEVER — AR5 product overview (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme source
- TEKEVER — AR5 maritime and defence brochure (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer specification
- UK Ministry of Defence — AR5 award, 16 September 2026 (opens in a new tab)Government / operator
- TEKEVER — EMSA configuration and framework agreement (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme source