The Royal Navy has taken part in a Baltic Sea training activity designed to examine how allied crews respond to an uncrewed surface vessel, bringing British patrol ships together with United States Navy personnel during BALTOPS 2025. The account is independently written from factual information published by the U.S. Department of Defense through DVIDS, rather than copied or closely paraphrased from the source. [1](https://www.dvidshub.net/video/966928/ctf-66-conducts-counter-usv-with-royal-navy-during-baltops-25)
The activity involved personnel from Commander, Task Force 66 and Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Crafts. The exercise material described the work as counter-uncrewed-surface-vessel operations, placing the focus on a class of maritime system that can operate on the sea without a crew aboard.
British participation came from three Archer-class P2000 patrol vessels: HMS Pursuer, HMS Biter and HMS Archer. Their presence gave the training a Royal Navy component while the American task-force personnel provided the counter-vessel element recorded in the official video account.
A Baltic setting for combined training
The footage was taken on 12 June 2025 in the Baltic Sea and posted by DVIDS on 15 June. The source described BALTOPS as the Baltic region’s major maritime-focused exercise. In that setting, the counter-vessel activity formed one part of a wider programme of allied maritime training. [1](https://www.dvidshub.net/video/966928/ctf-66-conducts-counter-usv-with-royal-navy-during-baltops-25)
The stated purpose was to strengthen combined responses relevant to freedom of navigation and Baltic security. That wording places the demonstration in an operational context, but the published information does not provide a detailed sequence of manoeuvres, a technical assessment of the craft, or a result that would show one side prevailing. Those details are therefore not added here.
Instead, the significance of the event lies in the opportunity to practise a shared response. The participating vessels and personnel came from two navies, while the training problem involved an uncrewed surface craft. Such an arrangement requires participants to work from a common understanding of what is being detected, how it is treated during an exercise and how actions are coordinated at sea.
The three British ships also give the event a clear patrol-vessel dimension. HMS Pursuer, HMS Biter and HMS Archer are named by the source as the Royal Navy participants, and the official account identifies them specifically as Archer-class P2000 patrol vessels. No further performance claims are made in this report.
Reporting limits and image treatment
This archive draft is based only on the factual candidates supplied in the official desk packet and the cited DVIDS page. The source identifies the participants, location, dates and training purpose. It does not establish a licence for unrestricted republication of its video or still imagery. The Gazette therefore treats images as unavailable for this draft and does not imply permission to reuse them.
BALTOPS 2025 consequently offered a defined test of allied counter-uncrewed-surface-vessel cooperation: American Task Force 66 personnel, Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Crafts and three Royal Navy patrol ships working in the Baltic Sea. The record supports that conclusion, while leaving tactical and technical detail outside the published account.
Reporting note This Maritime Gazette report is independently written from cited factual information published by U.S. Department of Defense / DVIDS.
Reported by Luke Smout.
Written by Luke Smout from verifiable facts published by U.S. Department of Defense / DVIDS on 15 Jun 2025, 00:00. The Gazette does not reproduce source copy, and publication follows editorial review.