UK Royal Navy notes hybrid air wing progress with eyes on Peregrine drone development
The Royal Navy’s Peregrine UAV. (Photo: Crown Copyright)
The UK Royal Navy (RN) has made progress on its Maritime Aviation Transformation (MATX) initiative, with a British official revealing that further plans to expand on the implementation of the force’s Peregrine uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) were being discussed.
Disclosing the RN’s ongoing MATX developments at Defence IQ’s International Military Helicopter 2026 conference this week, the official outlined recent successes and noted the MATX strategy as “firmly embedded” within the RN’s defence capability plans.
The Peregrine drone, which is an RN variant of the Scheibel Camcopter S-100 UAV, is a rotary-wing tactical system fitted with a Thales-I lightweight airborne surveillance radar.
The RN had
Our news & analysis is now part of Defence Insight®
A Basic-level or higher Defence Insight subscription is now required to view this content.
More from Air Warfare
-
What does the FY2027 US budget signal for the country’s future airpower plans?
The record-breaking defence budget request focuses on bolstering some core next-generation aircraft programmes across each domain, although questions remain on the US's commitment to some key defence programmes.
-
Can UK interceptor efforts keep pace with the rising drone threat?
The recent acquisition announcement for Cambridge Aerospace’s Skyhammer solution is a key step in the UK’s efforts to bolster its counter-UAS capabilities, but more still needs to be done to tackle even smaller drone threats.
-
Saab Gripen E/F: the multirole fighter that’s seeing a resurgence (updated 2026)
The single-engine multirole fighter jet is seeing heightened demand with a sizeable orderbook and expanding export potential, as Shephard summarises the aircraft’s latest orders and developments.
-
France earmarks further $11.6 billion for missiles and drones amid rearmament push
The revised funding allocation will see up to 23% of the additional budget put towards stockpiles of munitions, with the country’s GDP spending expected to reach 2.5% by 2030.