Drone swarm defense exercise conducted for Royal Navy destroyer by QinetiQ
NewsFebruary 27, 2026
ABERPORTH, Wales. QinetiQ conducted a four-day live-firing exercise off the Welsh coast in which Royal Navy personnel aboard HMS Duncan trained against drone attacks and other simulated threats, the company announced in a statement.
The event, called Exercise Sharpshooter, was run in collaboration with Fleet Operational Standards and Training and used a mix of live and synthetic threats to replicate operational conditions, the statement reads. QinetiQ says the scenario design was developed by Inzpire, a QinetiQ-owned training company. Threat surrogates included Banshee Whirlwind uncrewed aerial targets and Hammerhead uncrewed surface vehicles, according to the statement, alongside simulated cruise missiles, anti-ship ballistic missiles, and enemy aircraft.
The exercise took place at the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Aberporth range area and was intended to test the ship’s detect-to-engage sequence across daytime and nighttime events, the company says. QinetiQ says HMS Duncan’s crew tracked and neutralized five aerial targets and sank two Hammerhead surface vehicles during the exercise, the statement adds.
