The Royal Netherlands Navy has completed its first participation in Exercise Sharpshooter, a QinetiQ-run training series blending live and synthetic threats to simulate complex swarm attacks.
The Dutch air-defence frigate HNLMS Evertsen spent three days operating 20 miles off the Welsh coast, where it tracked and neutralised a mix of aerial and surface targets.
According to QinetiQ, the exercise at MOD Aberporth combined live Banshee Whirlwind aerial targets, Hammerhead unmanned surface vehicles, and virtual threats representing cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and hostile aircraft. Inzpire, a QinetiQ-owned company, designed the threat scenarios to replicate defending critical assets under contested conditions.
HNLMS Evertsen engaged five aerial drones and sank two Hammerhead surface targets during the training. Commander Marcel Keveling of the Royal Netherlands Navy said the event delivered valuable operational pressure. “HNLMS Evertsen and the Royal Netherlands Navy are grateful to have trained on such an immersive level. To be able to fire at live targets and keep our crew in a higher state of readiness for multiple days has taught us many lessons we aim to take with us when sailing on an operational level,” he stated. “Especially in the ever-changing world of today we find it important to train as realistically as possible, this exercise was a prime example of that.”
Will Blamey, chief executive for UK Defence at QinetiQ, framed the deployment as a step in allied readiness. “With interoperability between nations more important than ever, these exercises give the UK and its allies the opportunity to train alongside each other, sharing tactics and learnings to improve readiness,” he said. “By blending live and synthetic training with advanced capabilities, we help allied forces stay battle-ready and make confident decisions in a fast-changing threat environment.”
Sharpshooter has been running throughout 2025, with the Royal Navy’s HMS Dauntless previously practising multi-day anti-drone engagements before joining a UK Carrier Strike Group deployment. QinetiQ says the programme sits alongside broader activity under the UK’s Long-Term Partnering Agreement, which includes multi-domain test and training support at 16 sites nationwide.
