The UK military is considering the deployment of two drone types to the Middle East after the US asked allies for help to secure a key shipping lane in the region, it is understood.
Donald Trump has urged the UK and other countries to send warships to the region to help secure the Strait of Hormuz after Iran closed the shipping route, causing oil prices to spike.
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“We are currently discussing with our allies and partners a range of options to ensure the security of shipping in the region,” the government said in a statement to Sky News.
Which drones could be deployed?
As the situation in the Middle East is heating up, a Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson told Sky News that the government “will explore” using interceptor drones – which proved successful against the Iranian Shahed-type drones used by Russia in Ukraine – for the UK armed forces in the future.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that another type of drone being considered for deployment is mine-hunter drones.
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“There are a range of things that we can do, including autonomous mine-hunting equipment. And that’s something we’re obviously looking at,” he said.
He added the government was “intensively” looking at what it could do to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, vowing the UK will “work with our allies” to do so.
What are mine-hunting drones?
Several oil tankers have come under fire when they tried to pass through the strait, which lies to the south of Iran, and there is speculation Tehran has started placing mines in the passage.
The UK could deploy autonomous mine-hunting drones to counter this threat.
Defence Secretary John Healey said earlier this week: “Now I’ve already got prepositioned in the region from before this conflict some autonomous mine hunting systems, and I’ve been talking to the planners today about additional options that we could bring to bear alongside allies if action is needed.”
The Royal Navy has four mine-hunting drone systems either in operation or development, including the Sweep system, made up of an uncrewed surface vessel and sophisticated payloads, SeaCat, which has two uncrewed surface vessels and three sets of uncrewed underwater vehicles to search for underwater threats, and the MMCM programme.
Another is the Wilton system, which contains crewed and uncrewed surface vessels, mine-detection payloads and remote command centres. This is already in operation in the Clyde area of Scotland and the Gulf, according to the MoD.
“The Royal Navy does have this capability, which is developing very fast,” Sky News’ military analyst Michael Clarke said.
Not tested in combat
With the Sweep system, instead of using specialist minesweeper ships, the military could use robots – “but it’s a fairly young system”, Clarke added.
“It’s never been tested in combat, as far as I know. This might be its first test, if the government is prepared to deploy it.
“So the government is certainly interested in offering this. I think what we can’t offer is minesweeping ships. The last one, HMS Middleton, was withdrawn about a week ago, so we don’t have any ships we can offer.”
The drones could be deployed from the Royal Navy’s Mine and Threat Exploitation Group, which is currently stationed in the Middle East, according to The Sunday Times.
It is not known how many drones are in service and could be deployed, the paper reports.
How do they work?
The drones scour seabeds using sonar technology to detect explosive threats in the water at depths of nearly 1,000ft (304m).
Mine-hunting systems can replicate a ship’s signature, which tricks sea mines into detonating safely.
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They can be operated remotely from land or sea, keeping sailors out of danger, according to Jonathan Reed-Beviere, Mine Hunting Capability Programme Director for the Royal Navy.
What are interceptor drones?
Interceptor drones are easier and cheaper to produce than long-range strike drones.
They cost less than 10% to produce than the Iranian Shahed drones they are designed to intercept in Russia, which have an estimated cost of up to £36,000.
The UK announced in September that it would begin large-scale production of advanced interceptor drones to help Ukraine defend against Russian aerial assaults.
The Octopus drones, designed by Ukraine with support from British scientists, are highly effective at destroying the Shahed drones Moscow continues to launch at Ukrainian cities, according to the MoD.
It is understood that the UK government is now considering using the interceptor drones against Iran’s Shahed drones in the Middle East.
“While Octopus production is for Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East has shown the benefits of Ukrainian technology, and, in the future we will explore use for the UK Armed Forces,” an MoD spokesperson said.
“Production of British-built Octopus interceptor drones has begun and we are accelerating this work to boost Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russian drone attacks.”
But this option is understood to be at a much earlier stage of consideration than a potential mine-hunting drone deployment.
Would leave Ukraine short
“Ukrainians, with quite a lot of British help, have developed a couple of super-accurate and very potent interceptor drones. They don’t have to explode anything, just hit it,” military analyst Clarke said.
“If they can be produced in big enough numbers, they could have potentially quite a big role to play in this conflict. If they could be transferred to the Middle East quickly enough, and they could be ready within weeks, they could have a major potential impact.”
But Clarke said deploying interceptor drones to the Middle East would have one major downside.
“Ukraine needs all the drones it can get. It is not good for them if the stock gets rerouted for political reasons and it would be quite a sacrifice for Ukraine to send 20,000 to 30,000 drones to the Middle East and would leave themselves short of them,” he said.
How do interceptor drones work?
Interceptor drones like the Octopus drone can reach speeds of around 186mph (300kmph) at an altitude of up to 14,800ft (4,500m).
“Octopus interceptors use frontline battlefield data to defeat Shahed-style drones before they reach homes, hospitals and power stations,” the MoD said.
They do so by directly colliding with the target or detonating in close proximity to it after the incoming enemy drone is picked up by a radar.
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They are equipped with four rotors, a camera and automatic targeting.
Interceptor drones can be launched from mobile or stationary platforms in quick succession and have sensors and navigation systems onboard to be able to quickly pivot in pursuit of a target.
