Royal Navy launches first drone boat squadron

Royal Navy launches first drone boat squadron The hybrid navy will see traditional warships and units integrate with uncrewed and autonomous technology as a part of the initiative backed by £1.5bn investment The Royal Navy has created a squadron made up of unmanned boats for the first time in its efforts to move towards a 'hybrid navy'. The 28ft boats will be based at Portsmouth Naval Base and will be dedicated to operating autonomous boats on the front line. The £12m squadron will operate dozens of K3 Scout surveillance drones and Rattler training drones designed to perform a range of operations and can be used to monitor Russian vessels in British waters. The squadron, which is remotely controlled, had already escorted warships in trials in Scotland while being piloted 500 miles away. The boats can travel at speeds of up to 63mph, have a range of as far as 1,100mph and can carry a 600kg payload. It had already escorted warships in trials in Scotland while being piloted from 500 miles away. The announcement follows after recent reports of Kremlin meddling which there have been more than 500 incidents of Russian fishing trawlers spying on critical undersea cables linking Britain with Europe and the US, The Telegraph revealed. Naval drones has been used extensively in the Russia-Ukraine war and had seen Kyiv kitting them with surface-to-air missiles and aerial attack drones to target Russian merchant vessels transporting oil through the Black and Azov seas. Labour had previously announced plans for special forces and law enforcement officers to board Putin’s armada of civilian ships, if and when they passed through UK waters. However due to the hefty cost to board Russian ships and keep them in port the proposed efforts have not been made. Capt Adam Ballard, deputy commander of the Navy’s surface flotilla said: “We now have a large fleet of these that I can deploy at my time and choosing against an enemy, and I am no longer beholden on just having to deploy a frigate or destroyer. I can just deploy these very discreetly and very rapidly, that gives me a significant advantage over our enemies.” He added: “I think actually you have more [of a] deterrent effect – the Russian navy has seen things like this sinking their oppos. So, if I was a Russian, I’d be like: ‘Oh, the Royal Navy’s now got these. Okay.’” When asked whether the drones could be used to track Russian interference with undersea communications, Vice-Adml Stephen Moorhouse, the Royal Navy Fleet Commander said: “There’s no reason why not. We’ve got radars, we’ve got cameras. We can do all sort of stuff. You can imagine the range of tasking that we do in UK waters with Russian vessels. You can use these sorts of craft.” The new squadron is part of the Navy’s efforts to move towards a ‘hybrid navy’, which will see traditional warships and units integrate with uncrewed and autonomous technology. The initiative has been backed by a £1.5bn investment over four years. Royal Navy Fleet Commander Vice-Admiral Steve Moorhouse said: “The Royal Navy is doing something it has never done before.” He said: The seas are becoming more contested, more dangerous and harder to operate in. A hybrid navy is about giving our people better tools. It means more reach, more striking power and more options. It will help make the Fleet more lethal, harder to knock out of the fight and quicker to adapt. People will remain at the heart of it.” The autonomous squadron was commissioned during a ceremony on November 5 in His Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth where a demonstration of the Kraken and Rattler vessels were showcased in front of more than 200 people. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting MP said: “The threat environment we are facing is fundamentally different from that of recent decades. A major determinant of military power now is who can innovate fastest. “That’s why we are using the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War to put the latest autonomous technology in the hands of our sailors, to help them protect our shores and those of our NATO Allies. “The more ready we are to fight and win, the less likely we are to have to. This investment strengthens our warfighting readiness and therefore our deterrence.”