UK Royal Navy uses Puma Drone as ‘Flying Eyes’ for Merlin Helicopter

The crew of a Merlin helicopter turned off their radar – and instead relied on a drone and its controllers to close in on ‘suspect’ vessels in the Atlantic. It’s the first time the Royal Navy has used a drone to help direct the actions of crewed aircraft and helps lay the foundations for the transition to a new era of maritime aviation.

The Merlin Mk2 is the Navy’s premier league submarine hunter, used extensively around the world to watch out for hostile activity beneath the waves.

Thanks to its impressive and potent suite of sensors the multi-million-pound helicopter also plays a key role in sweeps for potential surface threats.

But operating from tanker RFA Tidespring in the Atlantic, the crew of a Merlin from 814 Naval Air Squadron switched off their radar and relied instead on information coming back from a Puma.

At just over 4½ft long and with a wingspan of 9ft, the Puma is one of the smallest drone operated by the Fleet Air Arm.

Operated by controllers based on a ship or on land, it flies for up to two hours feeding back/recording imagery, providing vital reconnaissance and gathering intelligence.

Puma has been in service with Culdrose-based 700X Naval Air Squadron, the Fleet Air Arm’s squadron dedicated to exploiting crewless tech, for several years – but until now it has been used independently, or with other drones.

Culdrose’s Commanding Officer Captain James Hall said his team was pushing the boundaries to merge crewed and uncrewed aviation to create fully integrated air power.

“It allows us to work towards our ambition of routinely operating crewed and uncrewed air systems during the same operation.”

Captain Hall continued:

“The challenge for our deployed crews is to identify where drones can support our war fighting capability, and where we can further improve.

Source: UK Royal Navy