Royal Navy alongside USA and Saudi navies tests cutting edge 'sail drones' set to become the 'eyes and ears' for warships

Royal Navy sailors and ships got to grips with the tech of robot drones alongside ships from the Saudi and US navies in the Gulf.

The navy is looking into launching flotillas of sail drones that serve recon units for larger warships, moving around the Gulf gathering intelligence, beaming it back in real time to ships and headquarters ashore.

The latest exercises were made up of two major tests, with the first involving British and American ships and personnel, while the second also involved the navies of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to see how the drones might be exploited by a multi-national task group.

For the latter, seven ships – RFA Cardigan Bay, minehunter HMS Bangor, two US Navy fast patrol ships USS Hurricane and Chinook, Bahrani missile boats Al-Manama and Al-Fateh, and Saudi patrol vessel HMS Khalid – headed for waters off the Saudi coast.

The drones, which resemble sailboards, are powered by wind and solar energy, meaning they can remain at sea indefinitely.

Royal Navy officer Lieutenant Benjamin Carver, who has been working with the US task group, CTF 59, formed specially to push the boundaries of tech in support of naval operations in the Gulf, said the implications of drone use were ‘huge’.

He said: ‘I think autonomous systems are about to become a major aspect of the maritime world and it is really interesting to be here as they first hit the water.’