Airbus Helicopters and the Spanish Navy have completed a tactical flight trial demonstrating integrated crewed-uncrewed maritime operations using helicopters, drones, and naval combat systems during an exercise conducted in Rota, Spain earlier this month.

The demonstration involved the Spanish Navy offshore patrol vessel Rayo, an Airbus H135 helicopter, and two uncrewed aerial systems — the Airbus Flexrotor and Alpha A900 — integrated through Airbus Helicopters’ HTeaming system.

MULTI-DOMAIN OPERATIONAL LINK VALIDATED

According to Airbus Helicopters, the exercise validated real-time drone control and live imagery sharing between uncrewed aircraft, helicopters, and naval vessels to establish a multi-domain operational network.

The trials demonstrated how information gathered beyond the ship’s sensor range could be transmitted directly to the vessel’s combat systems to improve situational awareness during maritime operations.

Both uncrewed systems successfully conducted take-offs and landings from the moving vessel during the exercise. The H135 helicopter crew managed the drones in flight using Airbus Helicopters’ HTeaming tablet system.

The trial also demonstrated the integration of the Alpha Unmanned Systems A900 into the platform, highlighting the system’s ability to operate with multiple uncrewed aerial systems.

SIMULATED MARITIME ISTAR OPERATION

The operational scenario simulated a high-speed boat pursuit during an ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) maritime mission.

During the exercise, the Flexrotor and A900 tracked the target vessel and transmitted live video feeds to both the helicopter and the naval vessel.

The operational data was integrated into NAIAD (Naval Advanced Integrated Autonomous Vehicles Defence system), developed by Navantia for tactical integration of unmanned systems within SCOMBA, the Spanish Navy’s combat management system.

The integration enabled command, control, and interoperability between aerial, surface, and underwater systems operating within the naval environment.

CREWED-UNCREWED TEAMING DEVELOPMENT

Fernando Lombo, Managing Director of Airbus Helicopters in Spain, said the programme reflects ongoing work to develop operationally relevant crewed-uncrewed teaming capabilities for defence customers.

Airbus stated that the HTeaming system enables helicopter crews to control and integrate uncrewed sensors during flight operations to improve mission effectiveness.

Data from the uncrewed systems was processed through Airbus’ Helicopter Integrated Tactical System, which acted as an interface between the airborne systems and the vessel’s combat network.

Future development work is expected to include drone swarm technologies and expanded integration between airborne, maritime, and land-based systems.