The Royal Navy has enhanced its ability to thwart drone attacks after helicopter crews downed a pilotless aircraft off the Welsh coast.
In the ‘first air-to-air trial of its kind’, the crew of a Wildcat helicopter used the Martlet missile – designed to take out enemy surface targets – to destroy a Banshee jet flying at hundreds of miles an hour over the Bristol Channel.
The two-day trial saw the Royal Navy deploy the autonomous Banshee drone as the target for the Wildcat and its missiles.
After being launched via a ramp, the Banshee moved across the range, with the Wildcat poised to intercept.
The helicopter operates from Royal Navy frigates, destroyers and aircraft carriers performing a wide range of roles. These include supporting board and search operations and tracking down drug runners moving at high speed across the ocean, ferrying troops/equipment and personnel around, and conducting rescues when necessary.
Thanks to two new missile systems – Martlet, which has been in service since 2021, and Sea Venom, successfully tested earlier this autumn – it can also take out hostile ships, according to the Royal Navy.
Martlet is a lightweight, multi-role, laser-guided missile originally acquired for use against small, manoeuvrable targets such as fast attack craft, jet skis and speedboats.
Martlet missile was tested overseas during the UK Carrier Strike Group’s global deployment in 2021 and since then, has been ‘thoroughly tested’ in different operational scenarios and situations.
In its primary role of maritime attack, the Wildcat is designed to engage a wide range of vessels, including submarines, and can now boast an air-to-air capability usually restricted to fast jets.
“Martlet in particular is designed to foil enemy fast attack craft/speedboats – but experts also spotted its air-to-air potential. That’s now been realized at the Manorbier range, near Tenby, in Southwest Wales – the first time the Wildcat has detected, tracked, and engaged a drone without outside assistance,” it was stated.
Wildcat pilot Lieutenant Dave Guest said the ability to take out drones added another crucial string to the helicopter’s bow.
“It’s really important that we can demonstrate the Wildcat’s effectiveness in engaging targets such as uncrewed systems -and that we can do so on our own, without requiring the assistance of other assets,” he added.
Earlier this year, a Wildcat from 815 NAS deployed aboard destroyer HMS Diamond repeatedly faced the threat of drones fired by Houthi rebels at shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Yemen.