"Swarm Squadron" £7M says SoS

[Onceapilot]

Reported by the BBC, Gav Williamson, UK SoS for Defence, says RAF "Swarm Squadrons of drones" will "overcome enemy air defences". Unfortunately, he fails to say exactly which Squadrons will be reformed in this £7M Defence Review.
:ok:

OAP

[MPN11]

111, 74, 12, 14, 201 .... pick a number!

[weemonkey]

Gloria Finis indeed!

[Mil-26Man]

Some additional info here https://twitter.com/GarethJennings3/status/1094924792053014528

[unmanned_droid]

Lol, I look forward to seeing this rapid mass production.

[Krystal n chips]

This could get a shade problematic really......given the size and content of the F700 and associated forms / rain forest therein.....so possibly the thinnest on record !...not really a great need for Lims / Deferred Defects/ OOP and what grade of oil / petrol to put in at some foreign location, to name but a few, after all, but, you can bet somebody, somewhere, will insist all the above forms are still in place albeit marked "intentionally blank "....

I'm sure a steering group or committee will be formed to address these issues in due course.....

[superplum]

Lol, I look forward to seeing this rapid mass production.

Will HUAWEI be allowed to tender?

:E

[NutLoose]

I hope they have put out a tender for more flying kit for the guys who sit in offices operating them. :p

[Union Jack]

Will HUAWEI be allowed to tender?

:E
"Huawei the lads!"

Jack

[c52]

It's a small step to making air shows have as many aircraft as they did in the 50s, I suppose.

[Treble one]

Perhaps this is part of a cunning plan to replace the Reds with a cheaper option that keeps the punters happy?

The meet and greets on the ground may be slightly impractical though-perhaps they can do them via Skype?

[Stuff]

BBC report must be based on S of S's speech to RUSI. Full transcript here: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/defence-in-global-britain

Turning to our Royal Air Force, fresh from celebrating its centenary last year, it is now firmly focused on the next 100 years. They already have 17 new RAF and Royal Navy F35 Lightning jets, capable of land-based operations anywhere on the globe and due to embark on our aircraft carrier for the first time later this year. We’ll soon have nine new Poseidon P-8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft enabling us to patrol thousands of miles of ocean and greatly enhancing our anti-submarine and maritime capability. We’re upgrading our AWACS aircraft with modern and better capability that will improve our battle winning airborne command and control. We are growing our operational Typhoon squadrons from five to seven - equipping them with world leading radar and now carrying deep strike Storm Shadow cruise missiles. And, to complement leading edge technology from F35, I have decided to use the Transformation Fund to develop swarm squadrons of network enabled drones capable of confusing and overwhelming enemy air defences. We expect to see these ready to be deployed by the end of this year.

[bobward]

Were they training close to Gatwick, just before Christmas last year??

[ORAC]

https://youtu.be/5NGgHyfPGU0