Critical infrastructure protection fuels growth in maritime counter-drone market
Operational lessons are pushing navies towards counter-uncrewed aerial systems at sea, creating a fast-emerging industrial opportunity for radar and effector makers.
Babcock International has completed the first docking and maintenance period on the Royal Navy’s HMS Queen Elizabeth at its facility in Rosyth, UK, it was announced on 21 May.
After the planned six-week work package was successfully delivered, the carrier departed Rosyth through the specially designed rollerfender system into the River Forth.
Work under the contract included replacing 284 hull valves and renewing all cathodic protection electrodes and anodes, as well as painting the hull and carrying out work on the stabilisers, rudders and shaft lines.
HMS Queen Elizabeth is due to enter service in 2020 after extensive whole-ship trials.
Operational lessons are pushing navies towards counter-uncrewed aerial systems at sea, creating a fast-emerging industrial opportunity for radar and effector makers.
The decision points to deepening NATO cooperation and mounting competition in the Arctic and North Atlantic, as Canada opts for a European-designed solution despite interest from South Korea.
The Royal Navy’s transition towards a hybrid fleet could prove to be less about building more hulls and more about delivering the autonomous technologies, AI and digital integration that will support future maritime operations.
The programme’s structure as a marketplace will allow multiple companies to compete for ongoing procurements; an approach which could be replicated across the Atlantic.
Investment in nuclear submarines, autonomous systems and stronger defensive capabilities for existing vessels show a clear strategic shift in Royal Navy priorities.
With a revised Defence Investment Plan on the way ahead of the upcoming NATO Summit on 7-8 July, the UK government has begun to reveal more details of how its future naval fleet could look.