Drones could play a key role in tracking drug runners and smugglers after successful trials with Royal Navy’s newest class of ships in the Channel.
HMS Tamar used small Puma aircraft during trials with the Royal Marines and the Met Police as the ship practices for ‘constabulary duties’ when she deploys for the first time this summer.
Although Tamar has a flight deck, it doesn’t carry a helicopter on a regular basis. The Puma could fulfil some of the helicopter’s intelligence-gathering role, as with its 50-times zoom camera it feeds live footage back to a mother ship at ranges up to a dozen miles.
Building on their experiences aboard HMS Albion in the Mediterranean last year, a team from 700X Naval Air Squadron brought their drone to Tamar.
The drone can survey an area of up to 270 square miles of ocean, looking for suspicious activity during sorties lasting up to 2½ hours.
We were under pressure to perform. There are many additional challenges in preparing and launching safety from a ship. While it’s a relatively small aircraft, it has a large wing and requires some skill from the operator launching it from the ship
said Lieutenant Ash Loftus, Puma flight commander.
The team completed 100% of the tasks required of them by the ship. They were often flying out of line of sight to approach vessels, using the system’s cameras for identification purposes. The team was in close communications with the officer of the watch and could report back successfully on the identification of vessels.
Puma is relatively easy to launch and recover, while it is difficult for foes to spot.
We could easily see just how useful such a system could be for any future anti-piracy or counter-smuggling operations. It’s a significant enhancement of the ship’s capabilities and bodes well for the future
added Lieutenant Commander Michael Hutchinson.
Tamar and four sister vessels are being deployed around the world on long-term missions, operating from overseas ports and bases, patrolling regions of key strategic interest and importance to the UK.
Constabulary duties (counter piracy/terrorism/smuggling) are a key role of the new River-class ships.
