Royal Navy Merlin Sub-Hunter Deploys Drone as ‘Flying Eyes’ in Historic First
As part of the UK’s broader push for manned-unmanned teaming, the Royal Navy’s Merlin Mk2 helicopter relied on a drone during a trial for the first time.
The Merlin shut off its onboard radar and used the 4.5-foot (1.37 meters)-long Puma drone as its “flying eyes” to hunt suspicious vessels in the Atlantic.
The Puma is a hand-launched surveillance drone with a 9-foot (2.7 meters) wingspan that can fly for up to two hours. It is in service with the Culdrose-based 700X Naval Air Squadron.
“The key concept here is what is known as a force multiplying effect – that is the ability to increase our effectiveness by combining our air and sea assets, rather than if they worked individually, and thereby increasing our warfighting capability,” Culdrose Commanding Officer, Captain James Hall, said.
Hall identified obstacles during the test, such as ensuring safe coordination between the two aircraft, maintaining secure and accurate data transmission, and enabling timely and effective decision-making based on that data.
“These are not trivial challenges and the Royal Navy is constantly developing solutions to these issues. As we transition towards a new era of maritime aviation, this new technology will allow us to detect, deter, and defeat threats at a greater range and ensure our operational resilience.”
British Manned-Unmanned Teaming
While this marks a historic first for the Royal Navy, the UK conducted its first manned-unmanned aircraft teaming trial in April 2024 involving a QinetiQ jet and a modified Banshee 80 drone.
Meanwhile, London shifted to a “20-40-40” military framework: reducing reliance on conventional heavy platforms to 20 percent and allocating the remaining 80 percent to drones and autonomous systems on the battlefield.
