Warship shoots down drone swarm off UK coast

The Royal Netherlands Navy has successfully shot down aerial and surface drone threats during a live-fire exercise off the Welsh coast, becoming the first NATO ally to participate in QinetiQ’s Exercise Sharpshooter.

The three-day exercise took place at the MOD Aberporth range, around 20 miles off the coast of Wales, and saw the Dutch frigate HNLMS Evertsen subjected to simulated swarm attacks designed to reflect modern maritime threat environments. The exercise combined live and synthetic elements, testing the ship’s ability to detect, track and neutralise multiple simultaneous threats.

During the serials, HNLMS Evertsen engaged QinetiQ’s Banshee Whirlwind aerial drone targets as well as Hammerhead uncrewed surface vehicles. The ship successfully tracked and neutralised five aerial threats and struck and sank two unmanned surface vessels.

The exercise scenario, designed by QinetiQ-owned Inzpire, required the defence of critical assets in contested waters. Live targets were integrated with synthetic threats representing cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and hostile aircraft, allowing crews to rehearse the full kill chain from initial detection through to engagement.

Commander Marcel Keveling of the Royal Netherlands Navy said the exercise delivered valuable operational lessons, stating: “HNLMS Evertsen and the Royal Netherlands Navy are grateful to have trained on such an immersive level. To be able to fire at live targets and keep our crew in a higher state of readiness for multiple days has taught us many lessons we aim to take with us when sailing on an operational level.” He added that realistic training was increasingly important given the current security environment, describing the exercise as “a prime example” of that approach.

QinetiQ said the exercise highlighted the growing importance of multinational training as drone and missile threats proliferate. Will Blamey, Chief Executive for UK Defence at QinetiQ, said: “With interoperability between nations more important than ever, these exercises give the UK and its allies the opportunity to train alongside each other, sharing tactics and learnings to improve readiness.” He added that combining live and synthetic training helped allied forces “stay battle-ready and make confident decisions in a fast-changing threat environment.”

Exercise Sharpshooter is run by QinetiQ as part of its wider test and evaluation role for the UK armed forces. Under the Long-Term Partnering Agreement, the company operates 16 sites across the UK delivering training across land, sea and air domains.

The Dutch participation follows recent Sharpshooter activity involving the Royal Navy. Earlier this year, HMS Dauntless neutralised drone swarms during the exercise ahead of its deployment with the UK Carrier Strike Group. QinetiQ has also supported multinational air and missile defence exercises including Med Strike in the Mediterranean and Formidable Shield off the coast of Scotland, involving 11 allied nations countering threats ranging from drone swarms to ballistic and supersonic missiles.