Royal Navy tests drones that can fly 250kg of supplies to Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers with 'pin-point accuracy'

HEAVY-LIFTING drones able to fly up to 250kg of military kit to sailors and Royal Marines on front-line operations have been tested to the limit by the Royal Navy.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Experts from the navy’s experimental drone wing, 700x Naval Air Squadron, have tested two crewless aircraft – which could soon be flying on to the Senior Service’s two £3.2bn supercarriers.

Read More
Royal Navy launches major probe after brazen thieves snatch £250,000 of fuel fro...

It is the second time the drones have been put through their paces to see how they could be used on futuristic military operations.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The latest ‘heavy lift challenge’ saw the hi-tech Malloy Aeronautics T-600 quadcopter managing to transport a load of more than 250kg over a short distance.

While the fixed-wing Windracers Autonomous Systems’ Ultra drone managed to fly 100kg payload more than 620 miles to a platform replicating the flight deck of the Portsmouth-based Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.

Remarkably, the unmanned drone was able to slow its speed and drop its package onto the mock flight deck with ‘pinpoint accuracy’, the navy said.

Royal Navy trials new hi-tech drones able to fly heavy payloads across hundreds of milesRoyal Navy trials new hi-tech drones able to fly heavy payloads across hundreds of miles
Royal Navy trials new hi-tech drones able to fly heavy payloads across hundreds of miles

The successful trials could soon open the doors to allowing the navy to use drones on operations, supporting everything from disaster relief to front-line combat.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Brigadier Dan Cheesman, the navy’s chief technology officer, said: ‘The heavy lift challenge is surpassing all our expectations. This is a genuine, game-changing collaboration between the Royal Navy, DE&S’ future capability group and industry and has, so far, produced quite spectacular results – all inside the same commercial framework we are able to iterate as one-team.

‘We are not there quite yet, but in perhaps as little as two months’ time, we will have the final ‘show don’t tell’ evidence we need to commence scaling to the hands of the warfighter at unprecedented pace.’

The tests come as the navy seeks to revolutionise how it operates, with Royal Marines having previously tested how they can use drones on battlefields.

Windracers Autonomous Systems’ Ultra drone managed to fly 100kg payload more than 620 miles to a platform replicating the flight deck of the Portsmouth-based Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.Windracers Autonomous Systems’ Ultra drone managed to fly 100kg payload more than 620 miles to a platform replicating the flight deck of the Portsmouth-based Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.
Windracers Autonomous Systems’ Ultra drone managed to fly 100kg payload more than 620 miles to a platform replicating the flight deck of the Portsmouth-based Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.

James Gavin, head of the future capability group said the latest bout of tests were an ‘important milestone’ that delivered some ‘promising results’, which would help deliver the ‘cutting-edge’ tech ‘at pace’.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘Ultimately, this work will help the UK armed forces retain and grow its operational advantage and also deliver cost efficiencies,’ he added.

Looking for the latest Royal Navy updates from Portsmouth? Join our Royal Navy news Facebook group to keep up to date.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.