Wildcat and mouse: Navy's helicopters dodge P2000s on Exercise Tamber Shield
Air and maritime have come head to head in Norway, switching from hide-and-seek to seek and destroy – keeping up with each other in an environment that favours no one.
On Exercise Tamber Shield, helicopter crews have welcomed a new teammate as they get a glimpse into a battlefield where uncrewed systems have picked a side.
The British P2000 vessel, crewed by around five personnel, is a small part of a large and varied enemy force – hunting and being hunted by 815 Naval Air Squadron.
Wildcats hunt P2000s
Members of the RAF's aggressor squadron have also been on board, with eyes on the horizon, watching for one thing – and one thing only.
In the Norwegian fjords, it's a game of cat and mouse, with the Royal Navy's Wildcat helicopters looking to get away from a range of threats that are smaller and more agile.
The helicopters are also trying to hit the P2000s and reposition quickly.
The Wildcats have been flying from Haakonsvern Naval Base and whenever they leave, the simulated warfare begins.
"A lot of our tasking here will be to go out and find the P2000s or the Norwegian corvettes," Lieutenant Hal, a Wildcat pilot from 815 Naval Air Squadron, said.
"They're camouflaged, they're fast, they know the local area very well.
"We'll be looking to engage them with our weapon systems before they can get the chance to engage us back."
Lt Hal said that it is difficult to hide in a helicopter, so they have had to use the terrain to their advantage.
"Everyone wants to win. There'll be a lot of scorekeeping. There's a lot of competition and competitiveness," he added.
The Puma UAS and Wildcats combined
There is no shortage of technology on both sides, but there is a new player in the game on this year's exercise.
Puma UAS have been brought on the exercise by 700X Naval Air Squadron, the unit created to lead the development of remote-piloted flight systems.
The uncrewed aerial vehicles are being used to train the crewed and uncrewed teaming tactics.
"We can use them to essentially check blind corners around fjords that we might not be able to get into," Lt Hal explained.
The Puma footage is beamed through to the Wildcat cockpit, where, for the first time, part of the uncrewed drone team sits close to the helicopter pilot and observer.
"The idea is that we can put the drone up threat early, try and identify those targets, get positions, [and] get eyes on," Lieutenant Simon Clark, 700X Naval Air Squadron, told BFBS Forces News.
"As soon as the Wildcat then comes on station, I will have that information here (on a tablet-style device), [including] the live view from the camera and the track data, to be able to work with the crew to be able to prosecute those targets."
Pushing boundaries
The drone is not new, but its integration with the Wildcats has been heralded as a milestone.
In addition to pitting units against one another, Exercise Tamber Shield also runs cooperative drills.
"If we're not pushing the boundaries and seeing what is and isn't possible, then there's not much point to us being here," Lt Clark said.
"It's great to be at the forefront of that trial activity, but it's really important that we, the Navy, the military, the UK Armed Forces, stay at the forefront of that."
While the race for the newest uncrewed aircraft can never really be won, the race to join them up with crewed systems is well and truly underway.
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