A new chapter in British aerial warfare, the Royal Air Force (RAF) has officially unveiled its first Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP), a cutting-edge drone called StormShroud. Developed to fly alongside crewed fighter jets like the F-35B Lightning II and the Eurofighter Typhoon, StormShroud will focus exclusively on electronic warfare (EW), blinding enemy radar and increasing the survivability of manned aircraft in contested skies.
StormShroud marks a significant shift in how the RAF envisions modern combat. Rather than relying solely on expensive, crewed aircraft for air dominance, the UK is now embracing manned-unmanned teaming (MUMT) — pairing piloted fighter jets with specialized autonomous drones designed to confuse, deceive, and neutralize enemy air defense systems.
The drone is the first of what will eventually become a family of Autonomous Collaborative Platforms. But StormShroud, in its own right, is a significant capability leap. According to the RAF, it is built to tackle one of the most dangerous phases of aerial combat — penetrating areas defended by advanced Integrated Air Defense Systems (IADS).
The RAF publicly announced StormShroud on May 2, emphasizing that its development was shaped by hard lessons from modern battlefields — particularly the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“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 RAF said in a statement.
That capability — known as Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) — is critical in modern air campaigns. As nations like Russia and China continue to field increasingly sophisticated surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems, any military seeking air superiority must be able to disrupt or destroy enemy radar networks before sending in crewed assets.
Rather than risking the lives of pilots, the RAF wants drones to take the first step into danger.
“The ACP Strategy is clear,” the service said. “The best way to optimize our strength against increasingly sophisticated adversaries is through a blend of crewed and uncrewed autonomous platforms operating together.”
StormShroud is not a combat drone in the traditional sense. It doesn’t carry bombs or air-to-air missiles. It’s also not a surveillance drone built to loiter for hours, scanning terrain below. Instead, its mission is specific: knock out enemy air defenses using deception, jamming, and electronic confusion.
At the heart of this mission is BriteStorm — an electronic warfare suite developed by Leonardo UK. This “stand-in jammer” is a compact and modular system that can be carried into hostile airspace by a small drone and deployed right on the doorstep of enemy radar installations.
The BriteStorm system is powered by Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) technology. It works by intercepting enemy radar pulses, recording them, and then sending back fake responses — essentially tricking enemy systems into seeing things that aren’t there.
This creates “ghost” aircraft — phantom radar returns that can mimic the shape, speed, and flight paths of fighter jets. These decoys confuse enemy operators and drain resources, buying time for real aircraft to carry out their missions or slip by unnoticed.
Mark Randall, Campaign Manager for Electronic Warfare at Leonardo, summed it up in a prior briefing: “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.”
The drone carrying this technology is based on the Tekever AR3 — a lightweight uncrewed air system (UAS) originally developed for maritime surveillance and battlefield reconnaissance. It has already seen extensive service in Ukraine, where it has clocked more than 10,000 operational flight hours.
The AR3 offers around 16 hours of endurance, is compact enough to be launched via portable catapults, and can operate in high-threat environments with minimal logistical support. While some AR3 variants support vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), the model unveiled by the RAF uses the more conventional catapult launch method.
This simplicity is intentional. By keeping StormShroud lightweight and affordable, the RAF ensures it can be deployed in greater numbers — and, crucially, that it can be treated as expendable if necessary.
In contested airspace, losing a drone like StormShroud is far more acceptable than losing a £100 million fighter jet and its pilot.
The RAF has assigned responsibility for operating StormShroud to 216 Squadron, supported by the RAF Regiment. Both regular RAF and Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) personnel will make up the teams, with additional support from other UK defence organizations.
To maximize deployment flexibility, StormShroud crews will be trained to work in small units under high-threat conditions. This approach is inspired by battlefield dynamics in Ukraine, where agile, low-profile teams have been key to deploying and recovering drones in active warzones.
The squadron is already receiving specialized training on how to operate the portable launch systems and maintain the EW payloads.
The UK government has committed an initial £19 million to the StormShroud program. While modest compared to big-ticket defense procurements, this investment is already supporting around 200 high-skilled engineering jobs across multiple locations in the UK — from West Wales to Somerset.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has personally endorsed the program, framing it as both a technological breakthrough and a geopolitical necessity.
“These drones are a clear signal that Britain is investing in the future of air warfare,” said a spokesperson from the PM’s office. “They’re built in Britain, supporting British jobs, and designed to help us stand up to increasingly aggressive adversaries.”
The government has suggested that more drones in the ACP family will follow, potentially expanding the UK’s drone fleet into ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance), communications relay, and even kinetic strike roles.
StormShroud enters a rapidly evolving landscape of drone development.
The U.S. Air Force, for example, is developing its Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) — larger, more survivable drones capable of carrying weapons and conducting a wide range of missions. Australia, meanwhile, has built the MQ-28 Ghost Bat, a “loyal wingman” drone designed to fly alongside manned jets and conduct ISR and strike missions.
Compared to these programs, StormShroud is narrower in scope — but that’s by design. It’s not trying to do everything; it’s trying to do one critical job very well: electronic warfare.
Its focus on deception and jamming means it’s unlikely to be armed. But that makes it cheaper, easier to mass-produce, and expendable in a way its heavier, multi-role counterparts are not.
“It’s not about being better than the CCA or Ghost Bat,” one RAF official explained. “It’s about being different. The StormShroud isn’t there to fight toe-to-toe with enemy jets. It’s there to mess with their eyes and ears.”
StormShroud is only the beginning.
The RAF’s broader ACP initiative envisions a fleet of autonomous drones, each tailored to a specific function — from reconnaissance to precision strike, and eventually, fully autonomous combat.
For now, though, StormShroud’s role is to act as a force multiplier — an invisible guardian for human pilots, flying ahead into danger to shield the more valuable crewed assets behind it.
Over the next year, the RAF will continue testing StormShroud in exercises, gradually integrating it into operational squadrons. The goal is for these drones to be deployable in real-world missions by the end of 2025.
Defense analysts say the shift could redefine how the RAF — and other NATO allies — approach high-risk air missions. If successful, StormShroud could form the backbone of the UK’s electronic warfare capability, especially in a future conflict with a near-peer adversary.
StormShroud isn’t flashy. It doesn’t drop bombs or dogfight enemy jets. But in the age of electronic warfare and sensor fusion, disruption may be more valuable than destruction.
By investing in small, smart, and specialized drones like StormShroud, the UK is taking a pragmatic step into the future of air combat — one where dominance may depend not on firepower alone, but on the ability to outwit, outmaneuver, and outlast a technologically advanced opponent.
As air defense systems grow more deadly and skies become more contested, uncrewed assets like StormShroud could mean the difference between success and disaster.
