Royal Navy chief backs drones, autonomous weapons in ‘Hybrid Navy’

Plan mixes crewed ships, robot escorts, and long-range strike to bolster a stretched fleet

The leader of Britain’s Royal Navy has outlined a “Hybrid Navy” built on a mix of crewed, uncrewed, and autonomous platforms to ensure it can continue to defend the nation and operate overseas.

In a speech at the defense and security think tank, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), the First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins said that there was still very much a place for the navy in the modern world, but that adopting new technology is critical to its future capabilities.

This need has become clear as threats have evolved over the past decade, and has been brought into sharp focus by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the more recent conflict in the Middle East, he said.

The shutting of the Strait of Hormuz to shipping by Iran demonstrated two things: that sea power is vital to maintain the free flow of trade and uphold freedom of navigation, but also the vulnerability of traditional platforms in the face of new threats, such as low-cost suicide drones.

By traditional platforms, he means the surface vessels that make up the navy - its destroyers, frigates and aircraft carriers. These are vulnerable to new kinds of airborne drones and missiles, but also sea-going uncrewed weapons, as Ukraine has shown by destroying or disabling a third of Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

"Can we fight today, and if so, with what? I am not here to dodge these questions. I am here to show you that we have a plan – and that the Royal Navy is rising to the challenge," Jenkins said.

The Royal Navy's preparations are being built around five key areas, he said, just one of which is the Hybrid Navy.

This is a vision for a future fleet transformed into a mix of crewed, uncrewed and autonomous assets, comprising traditional air, surface and subsurface systems working with and alongside drones and other cutting-edge weapon systems.

The aim is to have the first uncrewed escort ships sailing alongside Royal Navy warships within the next two years. Another goal is to launch the first jet-powered drone from one of the carriers next year, as part of Project VANQUISH.

A key objective of this scheme is to provide the additional capabilities, mass, and scalability the Royal Navy needs in order to be able to meet all of its obligations.

In case anyone hasn't noticed, the navy may have two giant aircraft carriers at its disposal, but the rest of its fighting vessels currently comprise just seven Type 23 frigates out of an original 16, and six Type 45 destroyers – half of which are undergoing long-term upgrades.

When it comes to submarines, the RN has six Astute-class "hunter-killer" submarines, and four Vanguard-class, which carry nuclear missiles.

What this means is that the navy is overstretched, especially when it is expected to guard pretty much the entire North Atlantic against Russian Navy activity, and the latter has an estimated 66 submarines - and growing.

The good(ish) news is that newer Type 26 sub-hunting frigates are now being built, with the first, HMS Glasgow, now fitting out ahead of sea trials, and expected to enter service in 2028. And the first of a class of general-purpose frigate, the Type 31, is also expected to enter service before the end of the decade.

But the Royal Navy will still be overstretched even with these, and so uncrewed and autonomous platforms are seen as a way of filling out the gaps in its depleted fleet. This might be realized by a surface vessel acting as the command ship for a number of uncrewed ships accompanying it, but others will be expected to patrol alone at sea, looking out for submarines.

Russia's reinvestment in its submarine programs poses the most acute threat to Britain, according to Jenkins. Like our surface fleet, our submarines spent a substantial amount of time responding to Russian undersea activity over the past year or so, he said.

Just last month, the Royal Navy spent 10 days tracking and deterring Russian submarines trying to survey vital undersea infrastructure in the North Atlantic, and Jenkins said that all the signs suggest this pattern of behavior by Moscow will only worsen further in future.

The Hybrid Navy is planned to include Atlantic Bastion, which aims to build a layered sensor network across the North Atlantic; Atlantic Shield, focused on integrated air and missile defense; and Atlantic Strike, involving hybrid carrier strike groups with precision long-range strike capability and Royal Marine Commando forces teamed with uncrewed surface, land, and air systems to bolster capabilities.

Jenkins said that the navy is already taking steps towards its intended goal. Last month, it held a wargame to test the potential of the Hybrid Navy, and has taken delivery of 20 uncrewed boats made by UK firm Kraken Technology to be used by 47 Commando Royal Marines, for training and operations.

He has promised more details later this summer on how the Hybrid Navy will be delivered, and said, "By the time I depart in 2029, I am determined that the Royal Navy will be much stronger than the one I inherited."

It will be a very different Royal Navy from the current one, and some may feel uncomfortable about the pace of this transformation, he said, "But our island's history shows us why it must be done."

Let's just hope the UK government is willing to provide the funding for all this. ®