Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to integrate the Royal Air Force’s Protector MQ-9B’s automatic (a) take-off and (b) landing capability with civilian (i) air traffic and (ii) air traffic control.

The aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and NATS continue to work collaboratively towards integrating the RAF Protector (MQ-9B) technology so that it can be safely used within the UK’s controlled airspace.

The CAA and the MoD will only give the necessary approvals for Protector to be fully integrated into controlled airspace when it is safe to do so.