Phoenix

Developed by GEC as a reconnaissance platform for the Royal Artillery, Phoenix eventually entered service in the late 1990s. Catapult launched and retrieved by parachute, it is deployed and launched from a truck. Initailly used in Kosovo, its performance was poor, mainly due to it being used for a purpose it wasn't intended for in mountainous terrain where its datalink was prone to interference as it flew into valleys. However, its performance in Iraq in 2003 has shown it to be a dependable system. Detractors say the only thing dependable about Phoenix is that it won't come back.

Phoenix has had a protracted development, allegedly due to the underslung sensor package being independently stabilized.

Photograph: BAE Systems