Royal Navy: Martlet missile on helicopters pushed to limit to support HMS Queen Elizabeth and other ships

The Royal Navy staged extensive an extensive Martlet missile firing trial in Wales this week. A Wildcat helicopter from Yeovilton-based 815 Naval Air Squadron to test the weapon to its maximum ability.

The goal is to test weapons which can be used to protect aircraft carriers, such as the Portsmouth-based HMS Queen Elizabeth, while on deployment. The Operational Advantage Centre (Maritime Warfare), the Royal Navy’s lead organisation on tactical development, put together the exercise.

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The trial, dubbed Triton’s Arrow, has proven crucial for understanding the capability of the Marlet missile. It was successfully fired against an aerial target for the first time.

The Martlet has been used on front-line operations over the past few years but the latest testing, supported by 744 NAS and 825 NAS, was to see how the missile system could be used further in a variety of circumstances to combat a range of threats. This is to test how it can best be used to support the navy’s fleet.

The trials, conducted over two weeks, involved a range of challenging tests for 815 NAS and industry partners Thales and QinetiQ. The Marlet missile was proven to neutralise the equivalent of small, fast-moving craft from speed boats and jet skis at range and airborne threats such as drones.

Up to 20 of these missiles can be loaded onto a Wildcat HMA Mk2 helicopter. The aircraft can be used to provide a protective ring of steel around the UK’s Queen Elizabeth-class carriers.

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The missile itself detaches from the helicopter in 0.3 seconds, accelerating to one and a half times the speed of sound towards its target. It has successfully been fired on front-line operations before, hitting an inflatable target while embarked on Portsmouth-based HMS Defender in 2021 as part of the UK’s Carrier Strike Group deployment.

Lieutenant Michael Vivian, pilot for one of the firing sorties, said: “The ability to protect a warship such as HMS Queen Elizabeth from fast-moving surface and now air targets make the Wildcat HMA a world-leading capability.”

Commander Stuart Crombie, Commanding Officer of 815 NAS, added: “The Martlet firings conducted by an 815 NAS Wildcat during the Triton’s Arrow trial have proven the devastating air-to-air lethality that the Wildcat offers."