Advancing UK Aerospace, Defence, Security & Space Solutions Worldwide
  • Home
  • /
  • Defence
  • /
  • Royal Navy looks to future following 2020 technology trials

Defence

Royal Navy looks to future following 2020 technology trials

From drones resupplying Royal Marines on the battlefield to crewless boats integrating with Royal Navy ships on deployment, 2020 was a year of firsts for technology in the senior service.

Above: HMS Prince of Wales hosts The Future Maritime Aviation Force event day.
Courtesy Royal Navy  /  LPhoto Dan Shepherd

Numerous trials took place throughout the year in the Arctic Circle, the Mediterranean and around the UK.

The Royal Navy continued to forge ahead – despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic – with bringing the latest technology to the front line and showed its commitment to getting cutting-edge equipment into the hands of sailors and marines.

Advertisement
Gulfstream RT

The year 2020 was about looking forward to the future and how the service will adapt - something evident during the autumn’s Littoral Response Group (Experimentation) deployment.

In the three months UK flagship HMS Albion, destroyer HMS Dragon, RFA Lyme Bay, 40, 42 and 47 Commando were in the Mediterranean, some 40 different experiments and assessments were carried out, spread across nine real-time exercises.

Drones feeding back live video footage, quad-copters delivering supplies and all-terrain vehicles were used in the series of trials in Cyprus.

They were latest in the Autonomous Advance Force (AAF) exercises the Royal Navy launched in 2019.

Dedicated to integrating autonomous and crewless tech into warships and commando units, the exercises have been important milestones to making this a reality.

They started in Norway in March 2020 when the Mast13 crewless boat, now known as Madfox, successfully sailed into HMS Albion while being controlled by operators deep in the ship. It was the first time the boat’s artificial intelligence system to control all of this tech was integrated in a Royal Navy warship.

Fast-forward eight months and the next phase of AAF trials saw Malloy T-150 heavy lift drones drop supplies to 40 Commando - taking off from Albion and flying inland to resupply Royal Marines on the battlefield.

700X Naval Air Squadron, the Royal Navy’s experts in drones and remote piloted systems, also took part in a range of trials last year.

They were also in Norway in February and March, testing their Puma craft in the frozen Arctic while back home in South Wales they took part in Exercise Merlin Storm, supporting the Commando Helicopter Force with aerial surveillance using their new Phantom Flight equipment.

The integration of new technology comes as the Royal Marines used 2020 to go back to their commando roots as raiders from the sea as they forge ahead with Future Commando Force modernisation.

As well as integrating the T-150 heavy-lift drone into their training for the first time in Cyprus, marines also used small remotely piloted aerial systems (RPAS) to aid decisions made on the patrols at the Sennybridge Training Area in the Brecon Beacons.

Advertisement
ODU RT

The same kit was used in Gibraltar along with ground-based robots called ‘Throwbots’ designed to feed live data to commandos on the battlefield to inform crucial decisions in combat.

Working closely with the Royal Marines to get this equipment into place is MarWorks - the Royal Navy’s information warfare technology specialists. They were in Norway and Cyprus, ensuring tactical and communication feeds could be used to their full potential by the marines.

Norway was the first real test of Project EVE, the infrastructure that is underpinning Future Commando Force, and Cyprus further put the system through its paces.

Closer to home, work focused on testing a private 4G mobile network infrastructure at Bickleigh Barracks, the home of 42 Commando, and they also built Command Rover Tablets for delivery to navy warships in the future.

During lockdown, MarWorks led on behalf of Navy Digital, the rollout of a messaging app to 3 Commando Brigade.

Dave McInerney, MarWorks Programme Manager, said: “2020 was a great year for the MarWorks team who have really pushed the boundaries of digitising the battlespace and supporting end-to-end information exploitation.

“These are key concepts if the Royal Navy is to gain and hold the information advantage.  LRG(X) was a particular highlight, with validation of our concepts and experimentation by the warfighter on the ground.”

The pace of trials and experimentation with new kit is expected to continue this year with more technology being trialled at sea and with the Royal Marines.
 


 

Advertisement
General Atomics LB
Lane Electronics to showcase defence connectivity at MSPO

Aerospace Defence Events

Lane Electronics to showcase defence connectivity at MSPO

11 July 2025

Lane Electronics, a franchised distributor for many of the industry’s major electrical, electronic and optical connector manufacturers, will be Exhibiting at MSPO 2025 (2nd–5th September 2025, Kielce, Poland), where they will be displaying the latest connector innovations and demonstrating their UK based assembling and value add services.

Flitetec secures two distribution agreements

Aerospace Defence Events

Flitetec secures two distribution agreements

11 July 2025

Amersham based aerospace business Flitetec, has confirmed two major deals that it shook on at the recent Paris Air Show.

GKN Aerospace secures Typhoon transparencies contract

Defence

GKN Aerospace secures Typhoon transparencies contract

10 July 2025

GKN Aerospace has signed a six-year follow-on contract with BAE Systems for continued manufacture of Eurofighter Typhoon transparencies at its Luton facility, through to the end of 2030.

Metis to supply Skyperion to NATO ally

Defence Security

Metis to supply Skyperion to NATO ally

10 July 2025

Metis has won a contract to supply a number of Skyperion drone detection systems to a NATO customer to provide the drone detect function as part of an integrated Counter Uncrewed Air Systems (C-UAS) capability.

Advertisement
Teledyne
ALL.SPACE unveils Hydra MAX

Defence Space

ALL.SPACE unveils Hydra MAX

10 July 2025

ALL.SPACE has revealed a major advancement in mobile satellite communications with the successful demonstration of Hydra MAX - the first network independent terminal of its kind to deliver ultra wideband communications to multiple satellites simultaneously.

BAE Systems assessed

Defence

BAE Systems assessed 'Awardable' for US DoD work in P1 Solutions Marketplace

9 July 2025

BAE Systems in collaboration with Defense Unicorns, have announced that their joint solution has achieved 'Awardable' status for US Department of Defense (DoD) work through the US Platform One (P1) Solutions Marketplace.

Advertisement
Teledyne