Royal Navy Stands Up Its First Autonomous Squadron in Portsmouth

The Royal Navy marked a milestone in its history on 5 November 2026 when it formally commissioned the 1st Autonomous Squadron at Her Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth, the first unit in the fleet built entirely around uncrewed surface vessels. Naval News, reporting on 9 November and citing a Royal Navy press release, described the move as an operational threshold rather than a symbolic gesture in the navy’s shift toward unmanned systems.

The squadron is staffed by roughly 180 personnel, comparable in size to the crew of a Type 23 frigate, organised into two watches to sustain round-the-clock operations. It effectively absorbs and formalises Project Beehive, the navy’s earlier experimental programme for uncrewed boats, turning years of trials into a standing operational structure.

At the commissioning event in Portsmouth Harbour, two types of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) were demonstrated from a shore-based control hub: K3-type craft built by Kraken Technology Group, and a platform known as Rattler. Both are intended to operate alongside or ahead of crewed warships, taking on reconnaissance, surveillance and higher-risk tasks.

The new unit is one of the first concrete building blocks of the Royal Navy’s “Hybrid Navy” vision, under which crewed, uncrewed and autonomous platforms are meant to operate together within a single operational picture. The UK government has committed £1.5 billion over four years to back this broader transformation.

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting, speaking at the commissioning, framed the shift as a matter of institutional speed as much as hardware: “A major determinant of military power now is who can innovate fastest.” Fleet Commander Vice-Admiral Steve Moorhouse called the step unprecedented for the service, saying “The Royal Navy is doing something it has never done before.”

The squadron’s Commanding Officer, Commander Helen Coxon, said the unit’s purpose is to build the skills and tactics needed to operate uncrewed vessels on the front line. Commander James Wagstaffe, who leads the Capability Accelerator Team, said his group exists to get new technology into sailors’ hands faster than conventional procurement allows.

The announcement lands amid a broader surge of interest in uncrewed maritime systems across NATO navies. Ukraine’s use of uncrewed surface vessels against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has pushed several alliance members to accelerate their own unmanned maritime programmes. The Royal Navy’s move stands out as one of the first cases of a major NATO navy converting that experimentation into a standing, permanently staffed unit rather than a time-limited trial.

Turkey has pursued a parallel build-up of unmanned naval capability under its “Blue Homeland” (Mavi Vatan) doctrine. Programmes such as the armed USV ULAQ, developed by ARES Shipyard and Meteksan, Sefine Shipyard’s MARLIN, and Havelsan’s USV-12 platform illustrate how Turkish industry has been moving in a similar direction. The Royal Navy’s decision to stand up a permanent autonomous squadron signals that, among allied navies, uncrewed maritime systems are moving from experimentation toward routine operational use.

Sources:

• Naval News, “First-Ever Autonomous Royal Navy Squadron Launches as Part of Investment in Hybrid Operations,” November 9, 2026 — https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2026/11/first-ever-autonomous-royal-navy-squadron-launches-as-part-of-investment-in-hybrid-operations/ (basis for the reporting and direct quotes, sourced from a Royal Navy press release)