Helicopter drones used to protect Royal Navy ships 'against small fast targets' on HMS Prince of Wales op

The Royal Navy flagship and her escort ships were protected from ‘highly-manoeuvrable targets’ by sophisticated drone helicopters.

HMS Prince of Wales and the UK Carrier Strike Group were conducting various attack and defence drills during Exercise Tamber Shield. Based in the fjords of Norway, the operations aimed at enhancing ‘tactical development’, with personnel getting to grips with different equipment.

Drones were launched, torpedoes dropped and flares cascaded over the waters around Bergen. Wildcat helicopters grappled with fast attack boats, exploited un-crewed technology and thwarted missile attacks.

British personnel worked side-by-side with their counterparts from the Royal Norwegian Navy and other Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) allies. The Royal Navy said its ships and aircraft were tasked to “deal with fast, agile threats in narrow waters”. New scenarios were introduced with new systems and additional vessels.

The fresh ingredients were 700X drone squadron and electronic warfare experts from the RAF. These specialists used their equipment to simulate infrared and radar-based missile threats, giving the helicopters extremely valuable practice of evasion tactics. Metallic strips and flares were shot to confuse fired missiles and divert them away from their targets.

Puma drones aircrews increase their ‘kills’ and survivability, the Royal Navy said. “The small aircraft scouted ahead of the helicopters, seeking both potential targets and threats, with the information fed directly into the Wildcat cockpits.

“Armed with Martlet missiles, the helicopters from 815 Naval Air Squadron – operating from both the home of the Norwegian Navy at Haakonsvern and the flight deck of HMS Duncan, escorting HMS Prince of Wales – are vital to protecting the fleet against small, fast, highly-manoeuvrable targets: fast-attack craft on the water, drones in the air.”

Pilot Lt Hal Wotton, of 815 Naval Air Squadron, said: “Tamber Shield has been extremely beneficial. It’s allowed us to refine our tactical development, using the challenging environment of the fjords to simulate realistic threat scenarios, including ambushes and counter-fast-patrol-boat engagements.”

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The exercise also provided a workout for three of the smallest vessels in the Royal Navy. HMS Archer, Biter and Example, P2000 vessels, had a cat-and-mouse battle with the Norwegians’ heavily-armed Skjold-class corvettes. Able Seaman Rob Scott, of HMS Biter, who experienced his first deployment, said: “Hiding in a fjord when we successfully spotted a Wildcat helicopter and were able to ‘kill’ it by simulating a surface-to-air missile attack was particularly enjoyable.

“Tamber Shield has been an exciting experience that has allowed me to see more of the world and gain a real insight into life on deployment. It has also been a valuable and interesting experience working alongside other UK forces and Norwegian personnel.”

Beyond the high-octane combat elements of the three-week workout, there were opportunities to conduct more general training, such as winching crew on to and off the tiny deck spaces on the P2000 patrol boats. And ashore, there has been cooperation with the Royal Norwegian Navy through a joint visit to Bergen, including hosting senior officers from the two navies, and participation in the city’s commemorations marking 82 years since liberation from the Nazis at the end of World War II.

The next stage of Operation Firecrest, headed by HMS Prince of Wales and the UK Carrier Strike Group, is Exercise Dynamic Mongoose.