Royal Navy launches one-way strike drones from aircraft carrier for first time
North Atlantic trials aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth tested uncrewed strike aircraft as part of plans to combine drones with F-35B jets.
The Royal Navy has launched one-way strike drones from an aircraft carrier for the first time, testing how uncrewed systems could operate alongside F-35B stealth jets aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth.
British-made Nyan Maritime drones, manufactured by Callen-Lenz in Wiltshire, took off from the carrier during North Atlantic trials in mid-October. The flights form part of the Navy’s development of a ‘hybrid carrier air wing’, combining crewed aircraft with drones.
The Navy described the trials as a major step towards changing how Britain fights at sea. It said the combined approach would increase a carrier’s reach, lethality and flexibility while keeping personnel further from danger.
The work was intended to establish how uncrewed strike systems could contribute to future Carrier Strike operations and wider defence activity. Armed Forces specialists and industry experts supported several flights from HMS Queen Elizabeth, following the drone’s first launch at sea from the experimentation ship XV Patrick Blackett earlier this year.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the threat environment had changed fundamentally from recent decades and that the speed of innovation had become a major determinant of military power.
He described the trials as an example of how the Government was using what he called the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War to give British forces greater striking range and lethality.
“The more ready we are to fight and win, the less likely we are to have to. This investment strengthens our warfighting readiness and therefore our deterrence,” he said.
HMS Queen Elizabeth also hosted Heavy Lift Challenge 3, during which a Tekever AR5 fixed-wing uncrewed aircraft operated from a carrier for the first time. With a wingspan of 7m and capacity to carry 80kg, the AR5 can support logistics and operational missions, the Navy said.
Those trials examined how drones carrying out intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance could operate alongside strike systems. Together, the two programmes are intended to inform the development of a more integrated carrier air wing.
Lieutenant Commander David Burton, trials sponsor for Navy Capability, said: “These trials give us the evidence and confidence to decide how uncrewed systems can work alongside crewed aircraft.
“The lessons will help us build a hybrid Navy that gives commanders greater choice and ensures our carriers remain at the cutting edge of naval warfare.”
The trials form part of the Government’s plans to modernise the Armed Forces. Its Defence Investment Plan provides more than £5bn for autonomous systems by 2030, described as the largest drone investment in Defence.