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The Royal Australian Navy has reached a new milestone in the successful first-of-class trials of the Edge 130 tricopter drone aboard HMAS Cape Pillar.
The 1.2-kilogram drone offers advanced agility and endurance, making it a critical asset for a range of maritime missions. Built by US-based manufacturer Red Cat, the drone’s diverse features make it useful for operations with poor visibility, with its optics and sensors being a key component of its design.
“The Edge 130 drones allow us to exploit the air domain in ways previously unavailable to minor war vessels,” said Commanding Officer Cape Pillar Lieutenant Commander Ben Couch.
“This capability enhances our ability to patrol Australia’s northern approaches with greater safety, speed and precision.”
Trials of the drone saw remote pilot training as well as onboard materiel integration, ensuring operators were well trained on how to deploy the aircraft. Standard operation procedures and testing was conducted on HMAS Coonawarra before the actual trial of the drone.
The trials, conducted back in September in Darwin Harbour, were supported by naval aviation experts from the Maritime Warfare Centre. The uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) flew over a range of complex terrains that simulate combative terrain, including mangroves and shallow waters.
This was done as a potential conflict may pose a threat to personnel and vessels to patrol in these regions, thus drones act as a critical method of surveillance while keeping other assets and servicemen and women safe.
The decision to purchase US rather than Australian-made UAVs came under scrutiny when the purchase of the drones took place last November. Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Mark Hammond defended the decision earlier this year, noting that the drones are a part of a “minor project”.
“That’s been funded out of a Navy minor project; it’s about $470,000. That trial will inform further development, and it’s for maritime, over-the-horizon surveillance from our Evolved Cape class patrol boats to support the border protection mission.”
The drones have been deployed to support Joint Task Force 639 in clearing dense mangroves of illegal fishing incursions.
