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Royal and French Navy drone teams share expertise in the Med
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16 January 2026
Hyères a story for you…
Enjoying the Mediterranean winter sun are personnel from 700 Naval Air Squadron, who took their Peregrine drone to the South of France for some joint training with our allies.
The Base Aéronautique Navale d'Hyères is the French Navy sole air station on the Mediterranean coast, home to search and rescue and carrier-based helicopters which share the airfield with Toulon’s international airport.
They also share the site with the Centre d'Expérimentations Pratiques de l'Aéronautique navale (CEPA) – its small, specialist experimental, test and evaluation squadron pushing the boundaries of naval aviation with new weapons, systems etc.
Which, coupled with temperatures in double figures even at this time of year and light winds, make it a more appealing location for drone operating than the Lizard peninsula.
Peregrine (or Pèlerin for Francophones) is the Royal Navy’s variant of the civilian S-100 Schiebel camcopter with some bespoke kit fitted for front-line operations.
It’s the first remotely-piloted helicopter operated by the Royal Navy, capable of carrying out sorties lasting up to five hours, cruising at around 55kts and operating at ranges well over the horizon from its mother ship/base.
It’s been used successfully in the Gulf for the past couple of years, providing the ability to monitor contacts of interest for long periods during drugs busts, without putting the strain on aircrew/airframes of traditional helicopters, as well as saving fuel/money.
The 700X team used the opportunity to share expertise with the Marine Nationale, who also operate the S-100 (they’ve not given it a name) mainly from their Mistral class helicopter assault ships, using it in much the same way as the Royal Navy does.
The excellent weather conditions and time in Hyères also allowed the Culdrose-based experts to renew their drone-operator qualifications.