Royal Navy Launches Strike Drones from Aircraft Carrier for the First Time

The Royal Navy has successfully launched strike drones from an aircraft carrier for the first time in mid-October trials conducted in the North Atlantic. British-made Nyan Maritime one-way drones, manufactured in Wiltshire by Callen-Lenz, took off from the flight deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth to demonstrate how autonomous strike systems can operate alongside F-35B stealth jets.

Conducted alongside experts from across the Armed Forces and industry, the flights follow the drone's first launch at sea from the experimentation ship XV Patrick Blackett earlier this year. The effort forms part of the Navy's "hybrid carrier air wing" concept, which brings together crewed aircraft and drones to enhance the carrier's reach, lethality, and flexibility while keeping personnel further away from danger.

During the same period, HMS Queen Elizabeth hosted Heavy Lift Challenge 3, marking the first time a Tekever AR5 fixed-wing uncrewed aircraft operated from an aircraft carrier. With a 7-meter wingspan and the capacity to carry 80kg, the AR5 can support both logistics and operational missions, demonstrating how intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance drones can integrate alongside strike systems.

Lieutenant Commander David Burton, trials sponsor for Navy Capability, said the trials provide the evidence and confidence needed to determine how uncrewed systems can operate alongside crewed aircraft. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting stated that the milestone demonstrates how the UK is using the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War to invest in equipment and technology that delivers greater reach and increased lethality.

The trials are part of the government's wider modernization efforts. Under the Defence Investment Plan, over £5bn is allocated for autonomous systems by 2030, including almost £250m for Project Pantheon to develop autonomous systems and test jet-powered drones alongside F-35Bs, at least £1.3bn for a hybrid fleet of crewed and uncrewed ships, and at least £210m for low-cost, long-range one-way attack drones for the Navy, Army, and RAF.