The past and the future came together in splendid fashion at HMAS Albatross on Thursday morning, with the commissioning of 822X Squadron. The past was enshrined in the pomp of the commissioning ceremony, during which old navy traditions dating back to Elizabethan times were on show. The future was the squadron itself.
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822X squadron’s motto is “See the Enemy”. Its mission is to experiment with and evaluate unmanned aerial systems, colloquially known as drones. That mission will help shape how the navy conducts reconnaissance in years to come.
Just how future-focused this new squadron will be is hinted at in the X on the end of its number. It’s the first time the Fleet Air Arm has added a letter to a squadron number and the number itself has never been used before. The X signifies the squadron’s experimental purpose.
The kit the squadron is flying is remarkable. The Insitu Scaneagle, for instance, is powered by a 28cc engine – pretty much the size of a whipper snipper motor. Yet this 28kg aircraft can cruise at 10,000 feet and be aloft for up to 12 hours with just five kilograms of fuel on board. That’s a hell of a saving considering the 100kg of fuel required just for start-up for a manned helicopter.
There’s also a human saving. In a recon role, the unmanned aerial vehicle – or UAV – can take on the dull, dirty and dangerous jobs assigned to much more expensive helicopters. They’re hard to spot, capable of being airborne for an incredibly long time and relatively cheap to operate.
In combat, they’ll be able to spot and designate targets, then use a laser to guide a missile fired from a manned aircraft that is out of harm's way.
Placed aloft to keep an eye on shipping lines, they can be used to detect and locate military threats, illegal fishing vessels, people smugglers’ boats and vessels in distress.
During the squadron commissioning ceremony, reference was made to the battle of the Coral Sea. It was the first time opposing fleets fought each other without being in direct contact. Manned aircraft were sent up to search for the enemy and destroy it.
In 1942, that involved flying patrols and relaying ships’ positions by radio back to aircraft carriers. The UAS systems now being evaluated by 822X squadron can send back in real time a TV feed from their patrol sectors directly to screens on board vessels.
We wish the new squadron every success as it steps into the unmanned future.
