The Royal Navy’s fleet of 20 uncrewed surface vessels under Project Beehive will be used for operations, training and development, Defence Minister Luke Pollard has confirmed.
Responding to written parliamentary questions from James Cartlidge, Pollard reiterated details of the £12.3 million programme and set out how the vessels will be employed once in service.
“The fleet of 20 vessels will be used by the Coastal Forces Squadron and 47 Commando Royal Marines for operations, training and development activities,” he said.
The order itself and its value were already in the public domain, with the update largely confirming how the capability will be integrated into Royal Navy activity.
Project Beehive is intended to support experimentation with uncrewed systems and help shape how they are used alongside crewed platforms. The vessels, supplied by Kraken Technology Group, are designed with an open architecture to allow sensors and payloads to be swapped and upgraded as requirements evolve.
Previous statements have described the boats as testbeds for future operations, with a focus on accelerating the adoption of autonomous technologies and refining tactics. The aim is to support a shift towards a “hybrid navy”, where crewed and uncrewed systems operate together.
Second Sea Lord Vice Admiral Paul Beattie previously said the investment marked “a significant milestone in our journey towards a Hybrid Navy”, adding that integrating autonomous systems would help ensure the service remains at the forefront of maritime capability. The vessels are expected to support a range of roles, including surveillance, experimentation and training, while providing a platform to trial new systems before wider adoption.
Captain Adam Ballard described the programme as “an exciting step” that brings experimental work into operational use, allowing lessons from trials to be applied more quickly.
