MoD launch investigation after Watchkeeper drone crashes near Salisbury Plain

It is the third incident to befall the controversial the £1.2bn Watchkeeper strong fleet since it entered service last year

Watchkeeper drones are controlled by radio signals (Rex Features)

The Ministry of Defence has launched an investigation after a £1m Watchkeeper drone crashed at a facility near Salisbury Plain, the third such accident in the last year.

The British Army-operated surveillance drone crashed on 2 November and suffered extensive damage when it crashed during a routine training sortie on the runway at the Boscombe Down facility in southern England, the MoD has admitted.

There were no injuries in the incident, however it is the third incident to befall the controversial the £1.2bn Watchkeeper strong fleet since it entered service last year, after an aircraft was written off at West Wales Airport in November 2014 and another aircraft suffered minor damage at Roberts Barracks in April.

The crash comes at an embarrassing time for the MoD after it was revealed last month that the 54-strong Watchkeeper fleet, which was commissioned in 2005, but entered service four years late and £400m over budget, has only completed six days of active duty after a decade in development.

Despite concerns over the project the unmanned aircraft recently made history as the first drone to fly alongside a manned plane in civilian airspace.

Unlike other drone models, such as the Reaper and Predator, which are operated by satellite, Watchkeeper in controlled by radio signals and requires nearby troops on the ground in order to function.