RWE and Ampelmann have completed a six-week cargo drone campaign at the 857 MW Triton Knoll offshore wind farm in the UK, with more than 250 flights carrying over 9 tonnes of equipment between a service operation vessel (SOV) and wind turbines.
The campaign was carried out in August and September 2026 as RWE assesses how cargo drones could support its SOV-based logistics model. The company is due to take full maintenance responsibility for Triton Knoll in 2027.
The drones can carry loads of up to 80 kg to turbine nacelles and main access platforms. During the campaign, they transported tools, maintenance parts and safety equipment between the SOV and turbines.
Cargo could be delivered before technicians reached a turbine and collected remotely after maintenance work. An unmanned pick-up system allowed loads to be lifted and lowered without technicians manually handling the cargo.
Ampelmann developed flight-control software for routine flights between the SOV and turbines. Pilots supervised the operations and could intervene when required. The system integrates the drone, winch and pick-up hook to automate cargo collection.
Ampelmann said the drone service can reduce vessel movements, crane lifts and manual cargo handling while increasing technicians’ effective tool time by 15–20%.
Located 32 km off the Lincolnshire coast, Triton Knoll comprises 90 Vestas V164-9.5 MW wind turbines and has a total capacity of 857 MW. The offshore wind farm was fully commissioned in January 2022.
The Triton Knoll campaign follows previous cargo drone operations conducted by RWE in Germany. At the 295 MW Nordsee Ost offshore wind farm, RWE worked with Ampelmann in 2025 on SOV-to-turbine cargo flights. An electric multirotor drone transported loads of up to 30 kg during the programme.
Separately, RWE worked with Skyways and Skyports Drone Services on longer-distance cargo drone operations at the 385 MW Arkona offshore wind farm. During trials in September 2025, drones flew more than 40 km from Mukran Port to Arkona and carried loads of up to 10 kg, with cargo delivered automatically to turbine nacelles.
Across the Nordsee Ost and Arkona programmes, RWE reported more than 80 offshore cargo drone flights.
