The British Royal Air Force (RAF) has unveiled its first-ever Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP), StormShroud. It will operate in a manned-unmanned teaming (MUMT) format with crewed fighter jets, including the RAF F-35B Lightning II and Eurofighter Typhoons.
The StormShroud is the first of a new family of Autonomous Collaborative Platforms (ACP) that will fly alongside manned fighter jets to enhance their survivability and assist in air-to-air combat. It is essentially an electronic warfare (EW) drone that will protect RAF fighter jets by knocking out enemy air defences.
On May 2, the Royal Air Force said in a statement: “StormShroud will support RAF F-35B Lightning and Typhoon pilots by blinding enemy radars, which increases the survivability and operational effectiveness of our crewed aircraft.”
The service emphasized that the drone’s development has been based on the lessons learned from the grinding Ukraine War and other battlefields worldwide.
The RAF said: “The ACP Strategy is clear that the best way to optimise our strength against increasingly sophisticated adversaries is through a blend of crewed and uncrewed autonomous platforms operating together.” The service said that the StormShroud is a more adaptable, agile, and cost-effective model that will reduce risks faced by human pilots in contested and hostile environments.
As per the RAF announcement, the StormShroud will be operated by 216 Squadron, supported by the RAF Regiment, and made up of Regular RAF and Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) personnel, alongside other UK Defence personnel. The troops will receive training on how to work in high-threat situations in small teams, the RAF stated.
The unveiling comes as advanced militaries worldwide are introducing loyal wingman-type drones that operate in tandem with crewed fighter jets.
What Do We Know About The StormShroud Drone?
According to the RAF, the StormShroud will conduct operations like Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) to aid its crewed partners. It will essentially render RAF jets “invisible” or more difficult to track by deceiving or jamming hostile radar systems. While other loyal wingman drones can perform EW ops, that is only one of the many other operations they conduct, unlike the StormShroud.
The StormShroud combines the Tekever AR3 uncrewed air system (UAS) and the Leonardo BriteStorm Electronic Warfare suite.
The StormShroud is based on the Tekever AR3 uncrewed air systems (UAS), which have been extensively deployed (and combat-proven) in Ukraine. With over 10,000 combat hours clocked in Ukraine, the AR3 is a tactical UAS known for its reliability and adaptability. Its endurance is about 16 hours, and it is known for being compact and lightweight.
The StormShroud drone will be equipped with Leonardo UK’s BriteStorm electronic warfare system. This system is a “stand-in jammer”—a small, platform-neutral system made to fly ahead of expensive, crewed combat aircraft. When deployed, it targets integrated air defense systems (IADS) by impairing the adversary’s radar tracking and targeting capability.
Mark Randall, Campaign Manager for Electronic Warfare at Leonardo, said in a previous interaction: “Platforms installed with a BriteStorm payload can deploy ahead to create confusion so that enemy IADS are unable to detect, track, and attempt to engage friendly assets. Due to the evolution of near-peer IADS capabilities, friendly forces must use BriteStorm to ensure they remain protected.”
Unlike traditional stand-off jammers, which are mounted on large aircraft positioned far from the battlefield, Leonardo’s stand-in jammer is lightweight, small enough to fit on a drone, and inexpensive enough to be expendable.
The stand-in jamming approach reduces the need for high-power systems, making it more suitable for operations in closer proximity to enemy defenses. Thus, making it ideal for air combat with a near-peer adversary.
When BriteStorm detects an enemy radar signal, it digitally records the radar pulse, analyzes it, and responds with either advanced spoofing techniques or electrical jamming using Leonardo’s state-of-the-art Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) technology. This manipulation can produce dozens of “ghost” fighter jets and other bogus targets, making it hard for the opponent’s radars to tell the difference between actual and fake threats.
Additionally, its software-defined architecture allows real-time updates to counter evolving threats, a necessity given the rapid advancements in near-peer IADS.
The StormShroud was developed by the RAF’s Rapid Capabilities Office, the Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) Catalyst team, Defence Science and Technology Laboratories (DSTL), and UK industry.
Notably, while these drones will operate alongside the F-35 and Typhoons, they will not be transported by these fighter jets. They will be fired from the ground using a portable catapult mechanism for which the crew is currently receiving training. As per reports, the Tekever AR3 can be configured for vertical take-off and landing (VTOL). However, the example displayed by the RAF did not seem to have that capability.
According to Tekever CEO Ricardo Mendes, the primary goal of the AR3 in its StormShroud configuration is to “carry the [BriteStorm] payload” and ensure that “it arrives, it survives where it’s needed,” particularly in “complex RF” conditions when several aircraft are deployed as a drone swarm.
The RAF intends to acquire a fleet of drones with differing levels of sophistication and cost. “The RAF is investing an initial £19 million into the cutting-edge drones, which are made in the UK and directly support 200 highly skilled engineering jobs at multiple UK locations already, from West Wales to Somerset, with further opportunities expected in the future.
StormShroud is just the first of a family of next-generation drones – known as Autonomous Collaborative Platforms (ACPs) – being delivered to the RAF,” a statement from the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said.
Notably, while parallels have been drawn between the ACP and the US Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), a key difference between the two is that the CCA will also carry additional weapons, whereas the StormShroud will only carry the EW suite. Additionally, the StormShroud is smaller and less survivable than the CCA.
In general, collaborative combat drones provide additional combat effects, supporting crewed aircraft by carrying extra air-to-air munitions, extending sensor coverage, and executing missions that would otherwise put human pilots at risk.
Unlike multi-role “loyal wingman” drones (e.g., U.S. Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) or Australia’s Ghost Bat), the StormShroud is purpose-built for electronic warfare (EW), specifically Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD). Its sole focus on EW, using the BriteStorm payload, distinguishes it from broader-capability drones that conduct ISR, precision strikes, or carry munitions.
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