The drones that drop torpedoes AND pick up wounded troops
MILITARY drones will replace Britain’s troops in future wars, the Defence Secretary suggested yesterday.
Unveiling new hi-tech equipment for the Royal Navy, Ben Wallace said the armed forces must be ‘relentlessly innovative’.
He added: ‘Instead of mass and mobilisation, this future force will be about speed, readiness and resilience, operating much more in the newest domains, in space, cyber and sub-sea, and working to prevent conflict as well as winning it.
‘The global picture has changed, our enemies have studied our vulnerabilities and have adapted far more quickly than us. We will pivot away from what we’ve become used to and instead reshape our armed forces to become a force fit for tomorrow’s battles, not fighting yesterday’s.’
Mr Wallace was speaking while touring the Royal Navy’s latest vessel, HMS Tamar, docked at London Bridge. It is the fourth of five offshore patrol vessels commissioned by the Ministry of Defence.
Mr Wallace said HMS Tamar was ‘capable of everything from guarding our shores to antismuggling and counter terrorism operations’.
He added: ‘She’s a great example of innovation and some of our ambitions for the future. She is going to be a critical part of our Royal Navy’s armoury and will play an important part in protecting our shores from future dangers.’
The technology on show included a Malloy quadcopter drone – dubbed a ‘pilotless pickup truck of the air’ – that can either carry a torpedo, huge payloads of ammunition or medical supplies.
A Royal Navy technical adviser, who did not want to be named, said: ‘It’s not all about delivering payloads and weapons, you could use it for border control, going up and down the Channel. It could be boxes of ammunition, which are really heavy, and you might need to get it across unhospitable terrain, snow, sand, rocks.
‘Think Amazon, deliver it to anywhere. It could be whatever you want it to be. It could be for bringing out someone who is injured. It can get someone who is injured back far quicker than going by roads or putting medics where it is dangerous.’
The adviser said naval commanders wanted drones to be integrated with the ship’s control systems. He added: ‘You could draw a search zone, or a point of interest, and you could tell it to go to there. If it’s just looking for something, it’s a camera, you can automate it.’
Also on display was a weapon that is used to smash drones out of the sky by crashing into them. The Anduril Anvil uses sensors to detect enemy drones – relying on light and shadows – before battering them.
Also undergoing trials is an unmanned patrol ship.
Sir Nick Carter, the Chief of the Defence Staff, said that despite the technological changes the nature of warfare had not changed completely.
The general added: ‘While the character of conflict evolves continuously – and this integrated operating concept is a response to that – the nature of war never changes.
‘It will always be visceral, violent and about politics, and ultimately it will always require people to go head to head on the ground to seek a result and a decision. It never changes and we should bear that in mind and history would underpin it.’
A major review of foreign policy, defence, security and international development is scheduled to conclude this autumn.
It is regarded as the biggest assessment of strategy since the end of the Cold War.
Mr Wallace said he wanted the review to embrace the latest technology. The former Scots Guard said the future armed forces would be ‘modern, versatile and innovative’.