Royal Navy Wildcats take on drones

Royal Navy Wildcat helicopters have completed three weeks of exercises in the fjords around Bergen, developing drone, missile evasion and fast-attack boat tactics alongside the Royal Norwegian Navy during Exercise Tamber Shield.

Run under the banner of the Joint Expeditionary Force, the UK-led coalition of northern European nations, Tamber Shield has been conducted for several years with the consistent aim of developing tactics for dealing with fast, agile threats in narrow waters. The 2026 edition introduced two new elements: 700X Naval Air Squadron’s Puma drones and RAF electronic warfare specialists from Spadeadam in Cumbria.

The RAF specialists simulated infrared and radar-based missile threats, giving helicopter crews live practice of evasion tactics including the dispensing of chaff and flares. The Puma drones from 700X scouted ahead of the Wildcats, identifying potential targets and threats and feeding information directly into the aircraft cockpits, increasing both crew survivability and engagement effectiveness.

Wildcats from 815 Naval Air Squadron, armed with Martlet missiles, operated from both Haakonsvern, the home of the Royal Norwegian Navy, and the flight deck of HMS Duncan, which was escorting HMS Prince of Wales. Lieutenant Hal Wotton of 815 Naval Air Squadron said the exercise “has been extremely beneficial,” adding that it “allowed us to refine our tactical development, using the challenging environment of the fjords to simulate realistic threat scenarios, including ambushes and counter-fast-patrol-boat engagements.”

Three Royal Navy fast patrol boats, HMS Archer, Biter and Example, worked alongside the Norwegian Navy’s heavily-armed Skjold-class corvettes in simulated cat-and-mouse engagements against the air assets. Able Seaman Rob Scott, on his first deployment with HMS Biter, described the exercise as “an exciting experience” that provided “a valuable and interesting experience working alongside other UK forces and Norwegian personnel.” He singled out one moment in particular: “Hiding in a fjord when we successfully spotted a Wildcat helicopter and were able to ‘kill’ it by simulating a surface-to-air missile attack was particularly enjoyable.”

Aircrew who had not previously done so were also given the opportunity to conduct torpedo runs, dropping Sting Ray torpedoes in the fjords. Beyond the combat training, the exercise included winching crew onto the confined deck spaces of the P2000 patrol boats and a joint visit to Bergen, where both navies participated in commemorations marking 82 years since the city’s liberation at the end of the Second World War.

In parallel, a second exercise was run at 815 Squadron’s home base at RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset, testing a mesh network designed to seamlessly share data between drones, helicopters and headquarters. The system is intended to speed up targeting decisions, particularly against fast-moving swarm threats, and is expected to feature increasingly in future Tamber Shield iterations and front-line operations.