Royal Navy & Royal Marine Future UAVs

Contains threads on Royal Navy equipment of the past, present and future.
Post Reply
BlueD954
Member
Posts: 233
Joined: 02 Oct 2020, 05:11
Singapore

Royal Navy & Royal Marine Future UAVs

Post by BlueD954 »

https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... -on-albion

British flagship HMS Albion is the first Royal Navy warship to deploy with a Fleet Air Arm drone flight to support operations.

The lightweight Puma is undergoing its first operational testing on Albion’s autumn deployment to the Mediterranean as its operators from 700X Naval Air Squadron’s Phantom Flight – normally based at Culdrose in Cornwall – develop new tactics and work out how it, and other unmanned aerial systems can be used side-by-side with other Royal Navy vessels and equipment.

Just over 4½ft long, with a wingspan of 9ft and weighing as much as six bags of sugar, Puma flies for up to two hours potentially monitoring an area of up to 270 square miles of ocean – that’s larger than the size of Greater Manchester.

Given its size and weight, the small drone can be launched from Albion’s sprawling flight deck, or from the open decks of her much smaller landing craft. It requires just three sailors: a vehicle operator to control the camera in flight, a mission operator to pilot/navigate the Puma and a Flight Commander who integrates the drone with the ship and other aircraft in the area.

“One of the reasons that I joined the Navy was to work with cutting-edge technology and straight after my specialist training I was lucky enough to get a draft with the RAF’s 617 Squadron working with the F-35 stealth fighters,” said Able Seaman Tom Halton.

“I’d always wanted to work with unmanned air systems and when I heard there was a position at 700X I didn’t hesitate to show my interest and I’m now part of the Royal Navy’s first deployable unmanned squadron.”

Puma provides the operations team with extra ‘eyes in the sky’, feeding back a live image in various weather/environmental conditions allowing commanders to make quick and accurate decisions.

With a top speed of over 50mph it can keep up with and track fast inshore attack craft threatening Albion or her task group, or ‘go-fasts’ used by drug-runners to traffic illegal narcotics, providing high resolution images and video for intelligence purposes, and provide oversight of Royal Marines as they are carry out raids.

As well as the work being carried out by 700X, Puma is being tested by the Future Commando Force teams from 42 Commando as they develop their ability to target enemy defences close to shore.

The three months on Albion and the numerous exercises the flagship is conducting gives Phantom Flight an unprecedented chance to push the potential of Puma.

“It is a brilliant opportunity for Phantom Flight to develop its tactics on a multi-platform, international deployment,” explained Flight Commander Lieutenant Ash Loftus, normally a Royal Navy air traffic controller.

“We aim to prove the utility of remotely-piloted aerial systems in the maritime battlespace and pave the way for their support to the future Fleet.”

Experimentation is at the heart of Albion’s deployment. Before the task group returns to the South West in December, the Royal Navy and Royal Marines will test new ideas, kit and tactics. 700X will soon be put to the test alongside a host of crewless systems on Exercise Autonomous Advanced Force 3.0.

Ron5
Donator
Posts: 7245
Joined: 05 May 2015, 21:42
United States of America

Re: Royal Navy & Royal Marine Future UAVs

Post by Ron5 »

Bags of sugar????

Caribbean
Senior Member
Posts: 2783
Joined: 09 Jan 2016, 19:08
United Kingdom

Re: Royal Navy & Royal Marine Future UAVs

Post by Caribbean »

A bag of sugar is a sub-weight of a standard Elephant (as in there are 1000 bags of sugar to an elephant) :crazy:
The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
Winston Churchill

Ron5
Donator
Posts: 7245
Joined: 05 May 2015, 21:42
United States of America

Re: Royal Navy & Royal Marine Future UAVs

Post by Ron5 »

I thought the standard measurement was double decker buses. So how many bags of sugar per bus?

Caribbean
Senior Member
Posts: 2783
Joined: 09 Jan 2016, 19:08
United Kingdom

Re: Royal Navy & Royal Marine Future UAVs

Post by Caribbean »

That's a measure of length, not weight!
The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
Winston Churchill

User avatar
ArmChairCivvy
Senior Member
Posts: 16312
Joined: 05 May 2015, 21:34
United Kingdom

Re: Royal Navy & Royal Marine Future UAVs

Post by ArmChairCivvy »

For UAVs displacement (at full load) is an especially important metric!
- sorry... it's not even late yet
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)

Repulse
Donator
Posts: 4579
Joined: 05 May 2015, 22:46
United Kingdom

Re: Royal Navy & Royal Marine Future UAVs

Post by Repulse »

Caribbean wrote:That's a measure of length, not weight!
The sub measurement of a double decker bus is a an Elephant, which can be divided into smart cars, which then can be further divided into scuba divers. Everyone knows that...

Image
”We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow." - Lord Palmerston

Ron5
Donator
Posts: 7245
Joined: 05 May 2015, 21:42
United States of America

Re: Royal Navy & Royal Marine Future UAVs

Post by Ron5 »

Brilliant @Repulse :thumbup:

Post Reply