Cargo ships should carry anti-drone systems to survive Strait of Hormuz, defence expert warns
Tensions in the Middle East continue to raise fears over the safety of global shipping routes, with the Strait of Hormuz a vital artery for oil and fuel supplies
Cargo ships should be equipped with anti-drone technology so crews can sail through the Strait of Hormuz without fearing Iranian drone strikes, a defence expert told LBC.
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Christopher Briggs, who oversees Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance at defence firm ROKE, said commercial shipping vessels need better protection from drones, warning: "This isn’t a military problem now."
"Oil, infrastructure, security infrastructure, even hotels, are all treated as legitimate targets now," he said.
Mr Briggs said the danger is not just the strike itself, but the lack of warning for crews on board civilian ships.
"What you don’t want is the crew finding out something is going on from an explosion - and having to run for the life raft," he told LBC.
"You want to give them a chance to at least react and preserve life as much as possible."
The defence expert's warning comes as tensions in the Middle East continue to raise fears over the safety of global shipping routes, with the Strait of Hormuz a vital artery for oil and fuel supplies.
The 167-kilometre trade route usually sees about 120 ships pass through every day, according to Lloyd’s List, but in the last fortnight just 105 commodities carriers made the crossing in total.
Two vessels were also hit in the Gulf this week, including one struck by an unknown projectile 11 nautical miles east of the UAE, and a Qatar-flagged tug which was hit by falling debris from an intercepted drone.
It is "just not feasible" to replace tanker routes with lorries, Mr Briggs said, as there simply are not enough road tankers available - the Gulf is the only option.
Mr Briggs said the current crisis is unlikely to be short-lived.
“It’s going to be a long time before we see things get back to how it was before,” he said.
“I think there’s going to be a long period of instability that’s going to have to be managed.”
Mr Briggs said ships need layered protection rather than relying on one fix.
"It’s about layering. There’s no silver bullet that solves the problem," he said.
Mr Briggs compared the current threat to the Somali pirate crisis, warning that even a relatively small number of attacks can reshape the shipping industry for years.
He said “the industry reacted to that for a long time” and noted that ships in those waters still travel with private security, suggesting the Strait could face a similarly long-term security burden.
He said surveillance and intelligence should be used to identify possible drone launch and recovery sites before a ship enters the Strait, while vessels themselves should also carry systems that can detect incoming threats.
Mr Briggs said Roke’s systems are designed to help do exactly that.
Its Cortexa Guardian technology is a modular counter-drone system that can build a “360 degree radar picture”, helping operators detect, track and identify multiple aerial threats and understand “which ones are the most immediate threat”.
The system is designed to be used by ordinary operators rather than highly trained military specialists.
He said Roke focuses on the “generalist user” and works to “hide the complexity” of the technology, so people can “pick it up, they can run with it” and “set it up in minutes”.
That, he said, makes it more realistic for commercial crews and other non-specialist users who need quick warning of drone threats.
He said the company also offers Cortexa Command, a modular, open standards-based situational awareness software platform designed to fuse information from different sensors and data types into a more accurate overall picture.
Mr Briggs said it can also autonomously command sensor platforms to provide real-time updates, helping operators respond faster as threats develop.
A joint statement from the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan on the Strait of Hormuz read: "We condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces.
"We express our deep concern about the escalating conflict. We call on Iran to cease immediately its threats, laying of mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block the Strait to commercial shipping, and to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2817."
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said: "We are currently discussing with our allies and partners a range of options to ensure the security of shipping in the region."
For operational security, the MOD are unable to comment on ships’ maintenance and generation cycles.
The Department for Business and Trade were contacted by LBC for comment.