Get you up to speed: Drones deployed to track Russian vessels in English Channel for first time | News World
The Royal Air Force successfully deployed the Protector RG Mk1 drone for surveillance operations over the English Channel from 14 to 16 October, tracking a Russian warship for more than 10 hours. Royal Navy ships, including HMS Dauntless and HMS Tyne, assisted in monitoring the area during this period.
The Royal Air Force deployed the Protector RG1 remotely piloted aircraft for operational sorties over the English Channel between 14 and 16 October, marking its first use in monitoring Russian naval activity. A phased delivery of 15 additional Protector aircraft is expected from General Atomics by July 2025, expanding the RAF’s surveillance capabilities.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting stated, “For the first time, Protector has joined Royal Navy warships and helicopters monitoring activity around our shores.” The UK government will continue to enhance its maritime security operations, with further reinforcement expected as additional Protector aircraft are delivered by July 2025.
What remains unclear — It is not specified how many total operational sorties the Protector RG1 will conduct in future monitoring missions.
RAF drones deployed to monitor Russian vessels in English Channel for first time
The Protector RG Mk1 is a remotely piloted aircraft system (Picture: Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is using a powerful drone to keep an eye on Russian warships lurking near the English Channel for the first time.
Joined by helicopters and Royal Navy warships, a Protector RG1 spent 10 hours watching for vessels between late September and mid-October.
The unarmed cutting-edge craft is one of 16 unmanned models ordered by the RAF, part of an 11-strong fleet.
During the first half of October, HMS Dauntless and HMS Tune monitored a Russian frigate, a warship designed to scout or patrol.
Commander Neil Skinner, of HMS Dauntless, said they spotted the RFN Neustrashimy transiting through the Channel.
Tracking such boats, he added, ‘contributes to the wider maritime picture and supports UK maritime security’.
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The RAF Protector RG1 has flown its first operational sorties – a deployment – in UK airspace (Picture: Protector RG1)
The drone provided surveillance over the English Channel between 14 and 16 October (Picture: Protector RG1)
HMS Tyne (bottom) intercepts RFN Aleksandr Shabalin (Picture: Royal Navy)
What is the Protector RG Mk1?
The drone can reach speeds of up to 390mph and fly at an altitude of nearly 40,000ft.
The Protector RG1 can fly for up to 40 hours, according to the RAF, and is controlled from afar by personnel at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire.
It’s a British take on the American MQ-9B drone, fitted with Paveway guided bombs and ‘fire-and-forget’ missiles called Brimstone.
The missiles rely on AI and sensors to distinguish between tanks and public transport vehicles without human oversight
RAF helicopters also tracked a Russian intelligence-gathering ship operating near Nato units and a Russian landing ship in the Channel.
The Kremlin has increasingly used drones, zipping remote-controlled aircraft in Denmark, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway and Poland.
A senior military commander told the MailOnline that Moscow’s drones could be launched within minutes from a ship off the British coast.
‘We need more aircraft in the air and ships at sea – it doesn’t matter how small the ships are, they simply need to monitor vessels,’ they said.
The Royal Navy’s anti-Russian monitoring activity increased 25% during the first seven months of this year, the MoD said in August.
Moscow was caught last month ‘rehearsing’ attacks on a vast undersea cable network in the Arctic that powers the UK’s internet.
The HMS Tyne (left) drifying near RFN Aleksandr Shabalin (Picture: Royal Navy)
Some 920,000 miles’ worth of undersea cables lace the world (Picture: AFP)
While 500 incidents of Russian fishing trawlers ‘spying’ on these have been documented, The Telegraph reported last month.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said: ‘Our Armed Forces work together every day, around the clock, to keep our country safe and safeguard our national interests.
‘For the first time, Protector has joined Royal Navy warships and helicopters monitoring activity around our shores, demonstrating how we are constantly innovating to monitor and deter threats and irresponsible provocation.’
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