Devon-based Royal Marines to train drone operators in under a day
Supply drone tactics tested at Spadeadam
Royal Marines based in Devon say they have developed new ways to quickly teach untrained troops to launch supply drones without being detected by a simulated enemy.
The Royal Navy said Malloy Flight, Delta Squadron, of Devon-based 48 Commando (Support Group) Royal Marines is working on the evolving procedures.
It said a freshly-trained drone team will be able to prepare and launch their drones within three minutes during the day and five minutes at night.
The squadron spent five days at the Spadeadam Training Area in Cumbria working on tactics for launching its Malloy quadcopter, which can carry up to 63kg.
The Royal Navy said the work is designed to increase the survivability of drone teams in combat by reducing the time needed to set up and prepare before launch.
Keeping pace with the battlefield
The Royal Navy said the aim was to keep pace with battlefield developments, such as those seen in Ukraine.
That means drone teams can launch their machines before the simulated enemy detects them electro-magnetically or otherwise and tries to destroy them.
The drones were airborne day and night and flew beyond visual line of sight to deliver critical supplies to commandos on the front line.
The Royal Navy said they repeatedly rehearsed supply drops in areas with heavy surveillance.
It said this showed that new drone teams can learn to safely set up, prepare a load and launch a sortie in under a day.
What the commanding officer said
Major Rhys Adkins, Officer Commanding of Delta Squadron, said:
"The rehearsals during Strike Warrior are a vital step forward as the UK Commando Force keeps pace with ever-changing and evolving drone battlefield tactics.
"In any modern operation, we must be ready to deploy drones rapidly at a moment's notice. Continually scrutinising our tactics and procedures means that when called upon we will be a well-oiled machine ready to deliver on the front line.
"The activity at Spadeadam shows we can rapidly equip commandos with the skills necessary to deliver drone operations wherever they are required, but we must continue to analyse, test and evolve to ensure we do not fall behind."
Major Adkins also said: "Malloy matters to the commando on the ground because it means that they don't have to carry as much equipment.
"They sometimes don't even have to be there or they can have an effect 12 times their number with one uncrewed system.
"It means that we can do more with less and use our people in a better place or in an alternative area and keep them safer whilst being more lethal.
"This is directly in line with where the First Sea Lord wants us to go. It fits within the hybrid navy concept and going forward into the war fighting headmark for 2029, but arguably we're proving that the capability works now. Ready to go where we need at a moment's notice."
The Royal Navy said more than 2,000 personnel from six nations took part. The nations were the UK, the Netherlands, Canada, Germany, Norway and the USA.
They were deployed across Scotland, including the Western Isles, North-West Approaches, Galloway, the Borders region and the North Sea.
The commando-led exercise was designed to rehearse allied crisis-response operations in the High North and North Atlantic region.
The Royal Navy said it was the largest test of all the elements of the UK Commando Force in 15 years.