New £20m drones to fly alongside Royal Navy's Wildcat Helicopters
A new £20m contract will give the Royal Navy more uncrewed aerial drone technology which will fly alongside the Wildcat Helicopter fleet.
Working on patrol with the Royal Navy's Wildcat fleet, the new Peregrine surveillance sensors will be used to provide real-time images and radar data to the Navy's warships during patrols.
It is the first uncrewed rotary wing aircraft to work alongside the Wildcats.
The Royal Navy's Director Develop, Rear Admiral James Parkin said: "I am delighted that we are at the stage where this excellent capability is about to be introduced into the frontline.
"As a system both deployed onto and integrated into, warships and auxiliaries operating in congested and complex areas of the world, the Peregrine aircraft offers what the Royal Navy needs in order to respond to the wide variety of threats that we are facing today.
He added: "Today is also a key milestone in the Fleet Air Arm's evolution to a mixed crewed and uncrewed fighting arm of the fleet, and we are anticipating learning many lessons as such technologies continue to develop and offer new opportunities for the current and future Navy."
'A key milestone in the Fleet Air Arm's evolution'
Rear Admiral Parkin added: "Today is also a key milestone in the Fleet Air Arm's evolution to a mixed crewed and uncrewed fighting arm of the fleet, and we are anticipating learning many lessons as such technologies continue to develop and offer new opportunities for the current and future Navy."
The Peregrine sensors were created by Thales and will be fitted to an S-100 uncrewed air system provided by Schiebel.
It can be launched in difficult conditions at any time and will be deployed to protect warships, extend detection range and fidelity, and be used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance gathering.
Andy Start, CEO of Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), which awarded the contract, said: "The DE&S RPAS team have delivered a contract which will see rapid development and deployment of a key Remotely Piloted Air System for the Royal Navy.
"Due to the collaborative approach we have taken with industry, the Navy shall be receiving a mature air system which is able to detect threats at range, protecting British interests in the Gulf."
Peregrine will be deployed directly into an operational theatre from mid-2024.
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