The British military has utilized a Royal Air Force (RAF) Protector unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for the first time to track foreign vessels.
Sea-news.az reports that British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting announced this in a statement to The Telegraph.
According to the publication, the unarmed drone monitored foreign vessels—including Russian warships—for over 10 hours between late September and mid-October.
The United Kingdom has procured 16 drones of this type, 11 of which have already entered operational service.
Royal Navy data indicates that during the first seven months of 2026, the number of monitoring operations tracking Russian naval activity in UK territorial waters and the North Atlantic increased by 25 percent compared to the same period in 2025.
In July alone, four surface vessels—HMS Somerset, HMS Tyne, HMS Mersey, and HMS Severn—alongside Wildcat and Merlin helicopters were deployed to track Russian warships and submarines.
