Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether Joint Services Publication 398 on UK Rules of Engagement has been amended to reflect use of remotely piloted aircraft systems.

Mr Mark Francois

JSP 398 was updated on 21 October 2013, replacing the previous 2004 edition. Rules of engagement govern how force can be applied in any given operation. They are not tailored to weapon system types per se, but are written to be applied as appropriate to the full spectrum of weapons systems available to UK Forces. Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) are governed by the same rules and regulations as any other weapons system; therefore the amendment of JSP 398 did not require any special provision to reflect the use of RPAS by UK Forces.