The Royal Navy has surged missile-armed Wildcat helicopters and a surveillance aircraft to Cyprus, intensifying British air defenses at RAF Akrotiri against Iranian drone attacks in the eastern Mediterranean.
Britain has reinforced its air defenses at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus with missile-armed Royal Navy helicopters and an airborne surveillance aircraft, following an Iranian drone strike on the base and continued aerial threats in the region.
Two Royal Navy Leonardo Wildcats arrived at the RAF base on March 7, airlifted from RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset aboard an RAF Boeing C-17 strategic transport. The Royal Air Force announced two days later that a third Wildcat had also been deployed to the region.
Fitted with a stores-carrying weapon wing, the Wildcat is configured to carry Thales Martlet missiles in the counter-unmanned aerial system, or C-UAS, role.
“Although still to be tested in action, the Wildcat-Martlet combination has proved successful repeatedly on test ranges, with aircrew repeatedly destroying aerial drones,” the Royal Navy said.
A Crowsnest-configured Leonardo AW101 Merlin HM2, operated by 820 Naval Air Squadron, arrived in Cyprus on March 9. The helicopter departed RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall two days earlier and will be employed in the airborne surveillance and control, or ASaC, role.
The Ministry of Defence said the Merlin’s deployment will “further strengthen our ability to detect aerial threats.”
Capt. James Hall, commanding officer of RNAS Culdrose, noted the squadron’s prior operational experience in similar conditions.
“820 Naval Air Squadron already has experience of providing force protection from similar threats, having deployed ASaC aircraft on active operations in the Red Sea last year during the transits of the carrier strike group led by HMS Prince of Wales during Operation Highmast,” Hall said.
The helicopters join an existing UK detachment of Eurofighter Typhoon and Lockheed Martin F-35B combat aircraft at Akrotiri. On March 7, that combination was employed to engage what the Ministry of Defence described as a “one-way attack drone fired from Iran towards Iraq.”
Countering the Iranian drone threat has become a central mission for UK forces in Cyprus. An air vehicle previously struck the Akrotiri base early in the conflict being staged by U.S. and Israeli forces against Tehran.
Separately, a UK flight-test Typhoon was recently photographed at BAE Systems’ Warton facility flying with two rocket pods mounted beneath its wing. BAE Systems declined to comment, though the activity is believed to support efforts to integrate the BAE-produced APKWS guided rocket onto the fighter’s weapons suite.
The APKWS system offers a lower-cost option for engaging drone threats and is already in use across a range of U.S. military aircraft.
Key Takeaways
- Britain deployed three Royal Navy Leonardo Wildcat helicopters to RAF Akrotiri between March 7 and March 9, armed with Thales Martlet missiles for counter-drone operations.
- A Crowsnest-equipped Leonardo AW101 Merlin HM2 from 820 Naval Air Squadron also arrived to provide airborne surveillance and control capability.
- UK Typhoon and F-35B aircraft engaged an Iranian one-way attack drone on March 7; an Iranian drone had previously struck the Akrotiri base.
- A UK test Typhoon has been photographed with rocket pods at BAE Systems’ Warton site, believed to support integration of the U.S.-made APKWS guided rocket onto the Typhoon.
