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Royal Navy’s mini-helicopter debuts on operations in Gulf
21 February 2025
The Royal Navy has used its new mini-helicopter drone for the first time on drug-hunting operations in the Middle East.
At just three metres (10ft) long, yet capable of sorties lasting up to five hours at ranges well over the horizon, Peregrine is the first remotely-piloted helicopter operated by the Royal Navy.
It’s been launched from the flight deck of frigate HMS Lancaster, which is deployed to the Middle East on a long-term maritime security mission, during sweeps of the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman looking for smugglers and drug-runners on the so-called ‘Hash Highway’.
Peregrine has been launched on sorties by day and night, scouring hundreds of square miles of ocean on every flight, feeding data, live radar picture and imagery directly into displays monitored in the warship’s operations room.
"Being part of the team that used Peregrine in our counter-narcotics operations was a fascinating experience,” said AB(AWW) Bradley Morris,
“The clarity of the images we obtained from miles away was impressive and highlighted the advanced capabilities we have at our disposal. It's exciting to see how technology is enhancing our operations at sea."
The drone is ideally suited to the long and demanding surveillance missions, preserving HMS Lancaster's crewed Wildcat helicopter to conduct interdiction or strike missions.
But the team from 700X Naval Air Squadron – the Royal Navy’s dedicated drone unit based at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall – have also operated Peregrine concurrently with the Wildcat to unlock the potential of drones and crewed aircraft working together.
Commander Sam Stephens, Lancaster’s Commanding Officer, said the Peregrine operations with his ship marked “a key milestone in the evolution of the Royal Navy’s uncrewed capability”.
This is just the start, as we continue to unlock the game changing capability with every flight, gaining the advantage over smugglers and adversaries alike
He continued: “Integrating this force-multiplier into the longest-serving operational Type 23 frigate whilst deployed on operations is a significant achievement.
“This is just the start, as we continue to unlock the game changing capability with every flight, gaining the advantage over smugglers and adversaries alike”.
Lt Cdr Rob Guest, in overall charge of both the Wildcat and Peregrine embarked on the frigate, added: “Combining the maritime expertise of the Wildcat Flight with the development and integration of uncrewed air systems has been a crucial catalyst in providing the Command team with additional assets that complement the existing capabilities - a combination that is producing promising results for the future.”
Peregrine requires a pilot, flying the drone remotely from on board Lancaster throughout each mission.
The mini helicopter is a Royal Navy-specific variant of the civilian Schiebel S-100, equipped with UK military tech: radar and an infra-red/electro-optical camera giving it the ability to ‘see’ at night and in poor visibility as it moves over the ocean at speeds up to 125mph.
During its operational debut, Peregrine located and monitored several board and search operations as Lancaster’s Royal Marines boarded suspect dhows, seizing drugs and other contraband.
Peregrine is not the only tech enhancement the veteran frigate has received. She is now the first ship in the Indian Ocean fitted with a new counter-drone system – particularly important in light of attacks by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden over the past 18 months.
Lancaster has recently completed a spell of maintenance in Bahrain which has seen upgrades to her weapon systems and sensors, and the complex task of replacing one of the frigate’s diesel generators, cutting a hole in the ship to crane the old engine out and a new one in.