Happy birthday: Royal Navy squadron to get new drone ahead of fifth anniversary

A specialist unit of Royal Navy drone operators will celebrate its upcoming fifth anniversary by incorporating the Peregrine helicopter drone into its fleet.

RNAS Culdrose-based 700X Naval Air Squadron specialises in harnessing drone technology for the Navy, working with the Puma reconnaissance drone to operate alongside existing helicopters, jets and warships.

The squadron is preparing to add the advanced Peregrine helicopter drone into its fleet ahead of its fifth-year anniversary in November.

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"We have come a long way in the past five years, which is not surprising given the fast-paced world of autonomous and remotely piloted air systems," said the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Marcus Pennant.

"As a squadron, we are continually researching new systems and assessing how they can be of use to the Royal Navy.

"At the heart of this endeavour are the men and women who rotate through the squadron – from aircrew and engineers to Royal Marines Commandos.

"Our air systems have performed admirably and have proved the concept of routine drone operations.

"However, this is just the start, and I have no doubt the use of remotely piloted and autonomous systems will continue to grow with new applications, augmenting crewed aviation with some of their key roles."

The Peregrine Rotary Wing Uncrewed Aircraft System (RWUAS) has previously been trialled by the Type 23 frigate HMS Lancaster and can be used for intelligence-gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance.

The inclusion of the drone will allow 700X NAS operators to detect and identify unknown targets quickly using its S-100 sensors.

Together with the squadron's existing fleet, the Peregrine will greatly increase its capabilities.

The squadron already has nine qualified teams operating its Puma drone systems, six supporting the Royal Marines of 40 and 45 Commando.

Known for being hard to spot due to its size, the Puma can be used for surveillance and intelligence-gathering over land and sea.

The Puma has been used by HMS Trent and by HMS Spey, which uses it to identify vessels working alongside the South Korean navy.

Commander Chris Fellows said: "700X Naval Air Squadron has already proved how we can generate and deploy teams to fly drones from warships around the world using the Puma RPAS.

"While Puma has proved ideal for localised reconnaissance, especially suited for work with the Royal Marines, our new systems are in a different league and will provide a formidable asset for our warships.

"The Royal Navy is increasing its use of drones and uncrewed systems to allow this rapidly developing technology to become ever more significant during our deployed operations globally."