Royal Navy Drone Goes Drug-Hunting In Middle East

Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance patrols by the Royal Navy in the Middle East have taken a high-tech turn thanks to Peregrine, its new rotary-wing UAV using Schiebel’s S-100 platform.

The three-metre mini-helicopter drone, which can fly at up to 125mph,  is being launched on ISR missions from the flight deck of frigate HMS Lancaster on the hunt for drug smugglers.

As per a recent Royal Navy press statement, the Type 23 frigate is monitoring swathes of the Red Sea, Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman as part of her long-term maritime security mission.

The remotely-piloted drone is being sent into the skies for up to five hours at a time, with its video and radar feeds being directly monitored by operations room crew back on board the warship.

"Being part of the team that used Peregrine in our counter-narcotics operations was a fascinating experience,” said AB(AWW) Bradley Morris.

“The clarity of the images we obtained from miles away was impressive and highlighted the advanced capabilities we have at our disposal. It's exciting to see how technology is enhancing our operations at sea."

While the drone’s ISR sorties are helpful in freeing up the frigate’s Wildcat to carry out other tasks, the 700X Naval Air Squadron drone unit have also flown Peregrine alongside the crewed helicopter to practise manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) operations 

HMS Lancaster’s Chief Officer Commander Sam Stephens said the Peregrine operations with his ship marked “a key milestone in the evolution of the Royal Navy’s uncrewed capability”.

He continued: “Integrating this force-multiplier into the longest-serving operational Type 23 frigate whilst deployed on operations is a significant achievement.

“This is just the start, as we continue to unlock the game changing capability with every flight, gaining the advantage over smugglers and adversaries alike”.

The statement said the UAV had already located and monitored several board-and-search operations as Royal Marines boarded suspect dhows, seizing drugs and other contraband.

It added HMS Lancaster had also recently been fitted with a new counter-drone system during maintenance in Bahrain.

• You can read more details on the Royal Navy website