Royal Navy Wildcat helicopters operating alongside drones from 700X Squadron conducted three weeks of intensive exercises in the fjords around Bergen during Exercise Tamber Shield, testing tactics against fast attack boats, simulated missile threats, and aerial targets, according to a Royal Navy news update.

The exercise, run under the banner of the Joint Expeditionary Force, brought together the Royal and Royal Norwegian Navies to develop tactics for dealing with fast, agile threats in narrow waters. The 2026 iteration introduced two new elements: 700X’s Puma drones, which scouted ahead of the Wildcats feeding targeting and threat information directly into cockpits, and RAF electronic warfare specialists from Spadeadam in Cumbria, who simulated infrared and radar-based missile threats to give helicopter crews live practice of evasion tactics using chaff and flares.

Wildcats from 815 Naval Air Squadron operated from both Haakonsvern, the home of the Norwegian Navy, and from the flight deck of HMS Duncan, which was escorting HMS Prince of Wales in the region. Armed with Martlet missiles, the helicopters practised engagements against fast patrol boats on the water and drones in the air, with the Royal Navy’s P2000 patrol boats HMS Archer, Biter, and Example working alongside Norway’s heavily-armed Skjold-class corvettes to provide opposition forces.

Able Seaman Rob Scott, on his first deployment with HMS Biter, said the exercise had given him a genuine taste of operational life. “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. Tamber Shield has been an exciting experience that has allowed me to see more of the world and gain a real insight into life on deployment. It has also been a valuable and interesting experience working alongside other UK forces and Norwegian personnel.”

Pilot Lieutenant Hal Wotton of 815 Naval Air Squadron said in the release that the exercise had delivered meaningful tactical development. “Tamber Shield has been extremely beneficial. It’s 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.”

Aircrew also conducted torpedo runs in the fjords, dropping Sting Ray torpedoes, with the opportunity taken to give those who had not previously done so the chance to carry out the drills. General training tasks were also completed, including winching crew on to and off the small deck spaces of the P2000 patrol boats. Ashore, both navies participated in Bergen’s commemorations marking 82 years since liberation from Nazi occupation at the end of the Second World War.

Alongside the in-Norway activity, a parallel exercise was run at RNAS Yeovilton testing the mesh network intended to become a central part of future Tamber Shield editions and front-line operations more broadly, seamlessly sharing data between drones, helicopters, and headquarters to speed up decision-making and allow Martlet operators to engage fast-moving swarm threats more quickly.