The Royal Navy has received its first fleet of uncrewed vessels under Project Beehive, the First Sea Lord confirmed in a speech at RUSI on Tuesday, describing it as a significant milestone in the creation of the Hybrid Navy.
General Sir Gwyn Jenkins confirmed the Royal Navy had received 20 uncrewed vessels through its partnership with UK company Kraken, which will be used by 47 Commando Royal Marines for training and operations. He described the delivery as “a significant milestone in the creation of the Hybrid Navy” and said the boats had been delivered in a matter of months, calling it testament to “the agile procurement system we have established and the strong partnerships we have forged with British industry.”
Jenkins also revealed that a Navy-wide wargame held at Southwick Park at the end of last month had tested the Hybrid Navy concept, saying it provided “clear evidence that our Hybrid approach will deliver a significant increase in warfighting capability, with the chances of mission success rising notably.” He said the wargame showed the Hybrid Navy generating a substantial increase in combat mass as measured by weapons and sensors, that missile capacity increased three-fold at “the level necessary to win a contest in the North Atlantic” and that readiness to respond improved markedly across all key missions including the continuous at sea deterrent, carrier strike groups, amphibious strike groups and integrated air and missile defence.
Looking ahead to near-term milestones, Jenkins said the first uncrewed gliders patrolling the North Atlantic to detect and monitor hostile activity would be in the water for Atlantic Bastion this year, that he aimed to have the first uncrewed escort ships sailing alongside Royal Navy warships within the next two years, and that the first jet-powered drone would be launched from a carrier next year.
Jenkins also pointed to the conversion of RFA Lyme Bay into a mothership for autonomous and uncrewed mine hunting capabilities as evidence of the Hybrid Navy already operating in practice, describing it as “just the start of a multi-phase process” providing “rapidly deployable and easily scalable solutions to the current situation in the Middle East, all while minimising cost to the taxpayer compared to traditional ships, reducing the risk to our sailors and marines in the process, and improving our effectiveness.”
The First Sea Lord said the Hybrid Navy was not about replacing existing capabilities but increasing the mass, survivability and lethality of the force, saying “it is only through blending the conventional and the new that we will achieve this” and warning that “there is no scenario in which we will have unlimited resources.” He described the vision in practical terms as a Type 26 frigate operating in company with two uncrewed escorts using AI, while a submarine drone hunts subsurface threats alongside crewed platforms, saying “this is what hybrid looks like.”
Very nice. I would hope then that this leads to contractors like BAE systems etc, coming up with future cheaper, faster to build, perhaps, autonomous frigate/mothership concepts as the tech progresses. Can we use this new hybrid approach to achieve a greater level of mass faster, then having to wait 6-10 years for a ship/boat?
What will the RN do with them operationally?
Anyone know?
The Beehive USVs?
They said ISR and training, so possibly helping with Russian ship shadowing, coastal reconnaissance and maybe practicing for Ukraine style base attacks if that’s what we have in mind.
Thanks. Interesting.
As long as they’re not used as an excuse for not buying warfighting assets that can self deploy at distance and defend themselves, and take on other tasks when not in a war zone.
In other words, a real Escort.
I see attention thrown on these to deflect from other areas where the RN has fallen dramatically.
Still, in themselves a positive development. Any self defence weapons carried?
I’ve seen the RIB going around for years with GPMG.
They’re unarmed, but only 8m long and 2.5t so it’s not too surprising. Kraken K3 scout if you want to look up anything else.
The ‘unmanned escort’ name is disingenuous, all I can see them doing is work alongside existing warships except as part of the combined Atlantic Bastion fleet.
Dodge the new anti USV weapons being developed !
Thats good to see. We need this approach everywhere. Every service needs urgent fleshing out. I admit my older infantry/Nato brain still thinks of mass in the form of tanks, ships and manned aircraft. However seeing what the Ukes have achieved, especially at sea, has changed my thinking. I do however struggle with those poor Russian sods faces when faced by a drone, a drone flown by some kid with an XBox gadget. Wonder if said kid could act as a real soldier in real combat…
Haha, there are a few on here that like playing computer games, I saw one comparing cars and military matters with AI searches the other night. (think he was 9 but he did say 12)
A Supra time was had exchanging comments !
Yup they are all rather strange to me mate. How would they cope with the Fan Dance? 🤣
Ha ha ha – good point – done that too many times and my back and knees are telling me about it now 😁👎🇬🇧
Whut?
My controller skills are terrible so I’m not sure I’d be any use in the world war, but I’m alright at strategy games and vehicle builders.
Just the start: May I suggest that by 2040, 65% of the RN fleet could be unmanned? Imagine warships at sea continuously for up to 12 months and capable of self-generating their own power without needing fuel replenishment. Obviously, these sizable craft could be crewed by a skeleton standby team (damage control) who would rotate with a manned conventional mothership. Each mothership manages four uncrewed drones over a 400-mile operational zone. Just a thought, folks.
Haha, I reckon 65% of the current fleet is unmanned !
Very true, mate….I love your humour; keep it up.
The implication as well is that this could lead to smaller, cheaper, aerial drone carriers, maybe along side our QEC carriers.
Mark R, the possible vessel concepts are endless, and eliminating the need to house and feed thousands of crew at sea will result in significant savings, leaving scope for more warships within current budget restrictions. Everyone in the MOD has to look to AI/robotics with the objective of reducing the casualty rates of combat. Ukraine is quickly developing autonomous systems to help backfill the battlefield losses, and this is not an option but a critical necessity. The UK is also gaining immeasurable data from this conflict, which must be ploughed back into UK defences. Unwittingly, Putin has triggered an explosion in technical advances not seen since WW2.
Amphibious Strike Group – is he kidding – a single RFA?