The Royal Navy’s 700X Naval Air Squadron, a specialist unit dedicated to operating uncrewed aerial systems, is celebrating its fifth anniversary. The squadron, based at RNAS Culdrose, has played a pivotal role in advancing the Royal Navy’s drone capabilities since its establishment. The squadron’s creation was inspired by Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the then-First Sea Lord, who envisioned drones operating alongside traditional naval aircraft like helicopters and jets.
Photo: Royal Navy
Over the past five years, 700X has achieved significant milestones. The squadron mastered the Puma reconnaissance drone, which boasts a range of over 30 miles and an endurance of two hours. This small, hard-to-detect drone has been deployed on Royal Navy warships, supporting a range of operations, including reconnaissance and intelligence gathering.
For instance, HMS Trent utilized Puma during anti-drug operations and disaster relief efforts in the Caribbean and off the coast of Africa. Additionally, HMS Spey employed Puma to identify vessels while collaborating with the Republic of Korea Navy. During the large-scale Predators Run exercise in Australia, commandos used Puma for reconnaissance and gunnery spotting.
700X has also been actively involved in the development and testing of new drone systems. Since December, the squadron has operated Banshee jet-powered drones from Predannack Airfield, near Culdrose. The Banshee, with a speed exceeding 400 mph and a range of over 60 miles, has enabled 700X to build expertise in high-performance uncrewed systems.
The squadron’s current focus is the integration of the Peregrine helicopter drone. The Peregrine system is based on the Schiebel S-100 Camcopter, an Austrian-made UAS, to fulfil the intelligence-gathering, surveillance, and reconnaissance roles.
The S-100 was chosen due to its maturity and proven track record. In service since 2005 with civilian and military users, the S-100 has accumulated over 120,000 operating hours, including demanding deck-launched operations in challenging winds and sea states.
Thales, the prime contractor and systems integrator for the programme, is equipping the S-100 with its I-Master radar. This compact, lightweight surveillance radar provides high-resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery and can detect moving targets at sea and on land. The I-Master has been integrated with the S-100 since 2013 and can identify ships at ranges up to 100km, vehicles at 35km, and infantry movement at 15km.
In addition to the I-Master, Thales is also providing the Peregrine with an Automatic Identification System (AIS) and the CarteNav AIMS Mission System for multi-sensor integration, planning, data collection, and information dissemination.
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