How the UK Royal Navy is powering up its hybrid fleet to combat new threats
The Royal Navy carried out a USV operational demonstration in October with five uncrewed, remotely operated boats. (Photo: Crown Copyright/LPhot Daniel Bladen)
Since it announced its move towards a new “hybrid navy” earlier this year, the force has announced a number of new uncrewed technologies in the works.
The UK Royal Navy (RN) has visibly ramped up its efforts to enhance its uncrewed capabilities at sea in recent months, demonstrating its ambitions to develop a hybrid fleet to keep the country’s maritime defences on a global footing, despite the service’s relatively small size.
While the RN is already considered a technologically advanced force internationally, its current focus on getting uncrewed underwater vessels (UUVs) and uncrewed surface vessels (USV) into the field as quickly as possible is underpinning its ability to both tackle emerging threats and to work more closely with its allies, particularly within NATO, who are advancing their own uncrewed
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