RN extends Wildcat manned-unmanned teaming net through ‘Dragon Rider'

Seen at the Farnborough International Airshow 2026, the Royal Navy's Wildcat HMA2 helicopter recently performed MUM-T trials under the service's wider hybrid air wing plans. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)

The UK Royal Navy's (RN's) Maritime Aviation Strike force - previously known as the Wildcat Maritime Force - has completed further trials designed to integrate Wildcat HMA2 maritime attack helicopters and unmanned aerial systems (UASs) into an integrated hybrid aviation component.

Undertaken in late July 2026, the week-long Exercise ‘Dragon Rider' successfully demonstrated a secure, resilient network operating across more than 320 km of southern England, from the Lizard peninsula to Somerset and Salisbury Plain. “Using a specially-modified Wildcat maritime strike helicopter, aircrew, drone operators and tech experts showed it is possible for multiple uncrewed systems to work seamlessly with traditional air and sea power over considerable distances,” said the RN in a 5 August 2026 media release.

The manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) trials, led by the Maritime Aviation Strike Operational Advantage Group at Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Yeovilton, built on the initial ‘Eagle's Eye' activity undertaken in Cornwall in January 2026. ‘Eagle's Eye' was a foundation-level trial proving the ability to send and receive live data across a node network that included a Puma UAS (operated by 700X Naval Air Squadron) and a smaller Providence UAS piloted by UAV Aerosystems.

Exercise ‘Dragon Rider' sought to extend the communications network well beyond normal radio range. According to the RN, the trial saw a Wildcat HMA2 fitted with additional sensors relay a data fed from multiple UASs flying over southern England to Royal Marines on the ground and operators in a central hub at RNAS Yeovilton.