L-Ne · Historical Source Library

News Source Record

# News Source Record

**L-Ne / Open-source news extract** — Original media coverage of unmanned aerial systems.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Collection date | 27 April 2013 |
| Platform | Quiet Systems |
| Data label | Open-source news record // LRRK collection product |
| Handling | Public-source material. Image rights require separate verification before publication. |
| Scale | Local |
| Language | English |
| Terms matched | drone; drones; Reaper; Predator; remotely piloted |

## Bibliographic

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Outlet | BBC News (Lincolnshire) |
| Title | Armed drones operated from RAF base in UK, says MoD |
| Dateline | Lincolnshire |
| First publisher | yes |
| Original URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-22320275 |
| Archive URL | — |
| Dedup key | 2013-04-27|bbc-lincolnshire|reaper-first-missions-from-waddington |
| Source grade | B1 |

## Record

**Verified extract — [Fact — B1]** BBC Lincolnshire reported the MoD said armed Reaper drones had been operated remotely from Britain for the first time, from RAF Waddington, where campaign groups had protested. Ten Reapers based in Afghanistan can carry 500 lb bombs and Hellfire missiles; they are piloted remotely but launched and landed with human help at Kandahar. Caroline Wyatt said the overwhelming majority of British missions are surveillance; MoD told her British drones are not used for targeted assassinations, unlike U.S. Predators in Pakistan. TBIJ estimates cited: up to 3,533 killed in CIA Pakistan attacks 2004–2013, about 890 civilians. In October 2012 the RAF created 13 Squadron at Waddington (~100 personnel). An RAF Thursday statement said it had commenced supporting ISAF and Afghan ground troops with “armed intelligence and surveillance missions” remotely piloted from Waddington. Air Vice Marshal Sir John Walker defended the capability; Reprieve’s Kat Craig called drones an “aerial occupation.” About 200 people marched on Saturday (CND, War on Want, Drone Campaign Network, Stop the War).

**Kinematic object.** Ten RAF Reapers in Afghanistan, now remotely piloted from RAF Waddington (13 Squadron)

**Coverage frame.** military

## Source integrity

- Why this is treated as an original
- Wire reprint status: BBC local original with MoD/RAF statements and on-scene protest reporting.
- What was excluded

- Date 27 April 2013 is the date another fetched BBC page attaches to “Armed drones operated from Britain.”
- Excluded later related-story chrome.

## LRRK relevance

Campaign / Control Fabric. First UK-soil remote operation of armed Reapers.

*LRRK — security assurance for systems that sense, move, and act.*

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