Over the past few years, the world’s military forces have been advancing in the development of various types of autonomous collaborative combat platforms, which include among their tasks supporting the deployment of other manned assets in operations. One of the most recent examples in this direction is the unveiling of the new autonomous electronic warfare drone StormShroud of the British Royal Air Force (RAF), intended to support the Institution’s F-35B and Eurofighter Typhoon fighters.

Developed by RAF’s Rapid Capabilities Office, the Catalyst team in Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), Defence Science and Technology Laboratories (DSTL), in partnership with local companies, the StormShroud is presented as the first link in a larger plan promoted by the United Kingdom to obtain autonomous platforms with greater performance and improved capabilities.

Influenced by the recent conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, this new drone has the capability to jam enemy radars by degrading the functioning of air defense systems. This is made possible thanks to the various types of payloads it can carry due to the platform used for its development, based on the Tekever AR3, which can carry the BriteStorm electronic warfare suite developed by Leonardo UK.

Personnel from the RAF and Royal Navy have conducted training on the new Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP) which will be entering service later this year. As part of a proposed RAF Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP) portfolio, the RAF has delivered the new uncrewed aircraft into service. The platform will support RAF F-35B Lightning and Typhoon pilots by blinding enemy radars. Uncrewed Air Systems (UAS) are not new to the RAF, and this new aircraft has been developed using lessons from the Ukraine and other operational theatres. The ACP will be operated by 216 Squadron, made up of Regular RAF, Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) and other UK Defence personnel. Squadron workforce will be trained to operate in small teams and in high threat environments.

“The lessons learned from the war in Ukraine have driven the production of StormShroud, and it has taken only one year from the approval of the Urgent Capability Requirement (UCR) to the delivery of the new capability, significantly reducing the time and costs of the program. This will allow the RAF to defend against more numerous adversaries while upgrading our capabilities much faster than with traditional approaches,” stated the Royal Air Force in its official statement on May 2.

With its official presentation completed, the new StormShroud drone will be operated by the RAF’s 216 Squadron, and supported by other units to advance its rapid adoption and integration into operations with other platforms such as the aforementioned stealth F-35B fighters and the Typhoon FGR4 combat aircraft.

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