More than 60 countries, 50 ships, 80 uncrewed systems – airborne, seaborne and underwater – from ten nations – and 9,000 personnel took part in the combined International Maritime Exercise ‘Cutlass Express’.
The Royal Navy said in a news release here that stealth speed boats and drones launched by Royal Navy vessels offered a glimpse of the future of naval operations in the Gulf.
“The goal was to enhance partnerships, and ensure seamless interaction and cooperation between participants of many languages, with different systems and different ways of working. Leading Combined Task Force North – operating in the Gulf – was the bulk of the RN’s presence in the region: minehunter command ship RFA Lyme Bay, with her ‘flock’ – HM Ships Bangor, Chiddingfold and Penzance – plus frigate HMS Montrose and vessels from other navies, including Japan, the USA and Gulf nations.
Lyme Bay proved key not just as a hub for the minehunters, but also some of the autonomous/crewless systems being put through their paces. The RN brought Puma drones, courtesy of 700X Naval Air Squadron, plus L3Harris MAST-13 robot boat, while the Americans rolled out the Devil Ray, the MARTAC T-38, capable of speeds in excess of 80 knots, can pull turns at six times the force of gravity (6G) and either gather intelligence or serve as a launchpad for other unmanned systems.
Not to be outdone, MAST-13 – which has also been given a name, Madfox – is sleek, high-speed and long-range. It was handed over to the Royal Navy 12 months ago to experiment with surveillance/intelligence gathering operations as well as force protection for a ship or task group. Completing the surveillance/intelligence picture is Puma, which gives ‘eyes in the sky’ – especially to ships which previously had none.”
The below is Puma.
The RN’s senior officer in the region, Commodore Adrian Fryer, said:
“The Royal Navy can look back on being at the heart of the largest maritime exercise in the Middle East. Well-established skills were sharpened and cutting-edge new capabilities were trialled, all alongside our regional and international partner nations.”
You can read more from the Royal Navy directly by clicking here.
That pic of one of our sailors throwing a Puma drone reminds me of the sort of model aircraft my big brother used the make during the 60s. A time when the whole world was waiting for WW3 to kick off daily and for the Americans and the Russians to blow the world up.
Exactly what my big bro build too and this is only updated now due to the much smaller kit it can now carry. Cheap but effective (although not sure how robust it is for the north?)
Won’t have long to wait now…
Drones are the one beacon of light at the moment and their development could be speeded up, to meet the new and demanding need for remote weapons. The West should be streaming a whole variety of remote systems into Ukraine, to help a protracted gorilla war that is bound to follow.
Leave the Gorillas alone Maurice!
Guerrilla warfare would involve thousands of civillians caught in reprisals. We should face Putin down & intervene to kick him out of Ukraine so it can be safe for Ukrainians. Russia & China want to bully & browbeat the free world into submission. Standing together & demonstrating we won’t let aggression succeed is the only way to discourage them.
Thanks for the grammatical correction, I always thought it was brutal Gorilla action? I believe some form of NATO action is possible if China was able to use its influence on Putin, and the Russian population bring him down, or narrow his operational parameters? NATO might then enter Ukraine to perform humanitarian operations.
anyone know which model of the Puma the UK has? -There’s been a few improvements on them I gather.
Sorry to hijack the thread a little.
I was watching Navy Lookout and came across this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTK9Q8P0kHg&t=62s
Anyone know what the ship is next to it (1.01 minutes)???
Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport
Cheers AlexS
will look it up 😉
The USN has one in Bahrain, Choctaw County, It uses the same berth as Lyme Bay.
USNS Yuma (T-EPF-8) an Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport.
These unmanned boats remind me of thunder in paradise boat. All we need now is a squad of robot hulk hogans.
I get to see these things on an almost weekly basis at work. The Drone boats are pretty awesome and a lot bigger than you would expect.
Cheers GB. They appear to be a pretty versatile craft and seems very fast for such a big ship carrying heavy loads right?