RAF Drone Unit Has No Drones!

The Ukrainian war is the first major conflict in which drone technology has played a really important role. Already, the war there is proving that drone technology is now central to 21st century warfare. Any nation that fails to learn this lesson is going to face battlefield disaster in future clashes. Yet, the Royal Air Force’s flagship drone trials squadron does not actually own any drones and has carried out no in-house trials with the craft. This shocking fact has just been revealed by the Daily Telegraph.

Speaking at the Global Air Chiefs conference last year, the head of the RAF, Sir Mike Wigston, said 216 Squadron had “proved beyond doubt the disruptive and innovative utility of swarming drones”. Yet now we learn that 216 Squadron does not even HAVE any drones!

For at least a decade, the 'top brass' of the British military have - like their political masters - been more concerned about virtue-signalling their Political Correctness than in doing the jobs for which they are paid. Thus, while it is shocking that the UK's military and political elite are rattling their Crimean War era sabres without the 21st century technology to back them up, it is not really that surprising. 

The word jingoism, used to describe mindless and boastful xenophobic faux patriotism, derives from a 19th century music hall song whose chorus ran:

At least, back then, Britain did have the ships, the men and the money for a serious war, whether justified or not. Those beating the drums for conflict today should admit that the UK does not have the equipment, men or money for any more than a minor border skirmish. 

Further, thanks to this latest revelation, we now know that the UK is making zero real effort to catch up with drone technology. Since the conflict in Ukraine is only adding to what Nagorno-Karabakh showed in 2020 about the crucial role of drones in modern warfare, this omission is a damning indictment of the Johnson regime. To be playing with the dangerous fires of foreign neo-Nazism and rekindled Russophobia is irresponsible and immoral; to be doing so when the country isn't equipped to fight its way out of a paper bag, is simply insane!