The UK Royal Navy’s (RN’s) Crowsnest airborne surveillance and control system has achieved delayed full operational capability (FOC), with its performance to be demonstrated during the service’s Carrier Strike Group 25 (CGS25) deployment.
Integrated with Leonardo Helicopters’ AW101 Merlin HM2, the Crowsnest system received FOC approval in late March, the RN says.
A trio of the rotorcraft, drawn from 820 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) at RNAS Culdrose, Cornwall, have been deployed aboard the RN’s flagship aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, which departed Portsmouth, Hampshire on 23 April at the start of an eight-month voyage.
The embarked capability will “ensure full protection to the task force’s warships from threats such as hostile aircraft, ships or incoming drones or missiles, enabling essential command and control over an extended area”, the RN says.
According to the service, the Crowsnest platform’s Thales UK Searchwater surveillance radar has detection range of up to 87nm (160km). This enables it to also perform in a command and control function, supporting operations involving Lockheed Martin F-35B Lighting II fighters.
“By getting a really capable radar up high and looking down, we’re taking advantage of all the lessons that we’ve learned in the past, particularly back in the Falklands War, to make sure that we’ve got that capability to help protect the strike group,” says carrier air wing and strike warfare commander Captain Colin McGannity.
Paul McDermott, Merlin head of programmes at the UK’s Defence Equipment & Support organisation, describes the FOC milestone as “a key achievement for the programme, bringing to fruition many years of intense work”.
RN personnel began training on the system in late 2020, with a first aircraft delivery made in early 2021. At that point, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) cited an FOC target of May 2023.
The Crowsnest system now positioned aboard Prince of Wales features enhancements over an earlier configuration which was deployed during the RN’s CSG22 activity three years ago.
According to current plans, the UK will retire its Crowsnest capability at the end of 2029. The MoD recently initiated a study activity to assess potential replacement options, with a new system expected to be introduced around 2030-2035.
Meanwhile, on 24 April, 18 of an eventually planned 24 F-35Bs embarked on the 65,000t Prince of Wales, with the jets assigned to 809 NAS and the Royal Air Force’s 617 Sqn, both based at Marham, Norfolk.
Six Merlin HM2 anti-submarine warfare and seven Merlin HM4 transport helicopters are also due to be part of the ship’s air wing, along with armed Leonardo Helicopters Wildcats.
