British Army tests its first Find and Strike Squadron

The British Army has set up its first Find and Strike Squadron within the Queen’s Royal Hussars. The British Army is pinning its hopes on long-range strike capabilities within its armoured formations.  

By Sam Cranny-Evans, editor of Calibre Defence, published on April 16, 2026.  

Soldiers from the Qeens Royal Hussars (QRH), an armoured unit in the British Army, have tested a new Find and Strike Squadron. According to an April 10 article published by the Army, they tested the launch of drones from moving vehicles and the sharing of reconnaissance feeds in real time. 

The Find and Strike Squadron combines reconnaissance personnel with drones and “strike troops.” The goal is to locate and engage targets at longer ranges and in shorter times, the article states.  

The tests also included a new helmet that the tank crews could use both in and out of their vehicles.  “We are also flying drones under-armour and, on the move, to integrate the system’s capability into an armoured battle group so we can operate at a tempo unmatched by our enemies,” Squadron Leader Major Douglas Graham, QRH, said. 

Part of the exercise, which was given the name of Senne Hussar, included the sharing of drone footage with dismounted and mounted troops. This is an interesting accomplishment, although the details are unclear.  

British troops in Afghanistan were able to downlink footage from MQ-9s, but that required significant increases to the regional comms infrastructure. It is not clear whether the drone feed was shared over the Army’s BOWMAN radio network or not.  

The Type 44 structure 

The QRH is one of three armoured regiments organising around what the British Army calls the Type 44 structure. Type 44 regiments convert one tank squadron in each unit to a Find and Strike Squadron. The aim is to increase the amount of long-range strike and reconnaissance assets available without reducing the number of tanks. 

The units commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Kearse said: “For me it is really simple: It’s about becoming more ruthlessly lethal…Here in Sennelager we are proving some of the no-regret actions that need to be taken in terms of tactics and form.” 

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Becoming ruthlessly lethal is a good goal, although it does lack some specificity in its public representation. However, there is some evidence of what it will involve. The British Army is working towards its own 20-40-40 concept, with far greater use of autonomous and unmanned systems. The details of this concept are being explored through experimentation such as Project ASGARD and procurements through Task Force RAPSTONE.  

Calibre comment: Applying the lessons from Ukraine 

The British Army is demonstrating its interpretation of the lessons from Ukraine. Some Ukrainian (and Russian) formations have proven exceptionally capable when it comes to causing losses at long ranges. Critically, they are often able to do that without suffering extensive losses of their own. The Find and Strike Squadrons aim to mirror this success, integrating it into a combined arms formation. This integration is perhaps the missing factor in Ukraine; drone units like Russia’s Rubicon Centre often have an outsized impact on the battlefield. However, the forces they support struggle to turn that impact into offensive progress. It seems reasonable to conclude that if the UK’s heavy armoured formations are able to inflict “ruthless lethality” from longer ranges, that they could preserve more of their mass for offensives.  

The lead image shows QRH soldiers deploying a drone during Exercise Senne Hussar. Credit: UK MoD