Royal Navy vessels have used a Malloy Aeronautics MalloyT150B uncrewed aerial system (UAS) to deliver supplies between warships for the first time.
This small piece of drone history took place as part of Operation Highmast, and involved the U.K. Carrier Strike Group (CSG) lead vessel and Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales and her escorting destroyer HMS Dauntless.
The Malloy T-150 quadcopter carried critical supplies, including spare and repair parts, from the aircraft carrier to the destroyer recently during the CSG’s Far East deployment.
As per a recent Royal Navy press statement: “The drone was flown autonomously during take-off and sorties for just over a mile and was subsequently controlled by crews on Dauntless to guide it onto the ship’s flight deck and make a safe landing.”
The T150B is designed to carry payloads of up to 68kg; the heavy-lift drone’s manufacturer Malloy Aeronautics is linked to BAE Systems’ FalconWorks arm. The UAS is being trialled by members of 700X Naval Air Squadron embarked on HMS Prince of Wales during Operation Highmast.
Lieutenant Matt Parfitt, 700X Pioneer Flight Commander commented: “This is a key milestone for the trial, achieved by all the hard work that everyone has put in. I’m proud to have achieved this first for the Royal Navy and excited to progress further over the duration of the deployment.”
Captain Colin McGannity, Commander Air Group, UK Carrier Strike Group, added: “This milestone in the Malloy trials is a step toward the vision of a fully integrated hybrid carrier air wing. By taking some of the logistics burden, Malloy will allow our naval helicopters to concentrate on their core outputs, while delivering, rapid, more efficient resupply across the whole Strike Group.
“The really exciting bit is that we then plan to incorporate these lessons to be able to use UAVs for many other roles, including options for warfighting.”
As previously reported, BAE Systems recently announced it had successfully launched missiles against air and ground targets from a modified version of a Malloy T-150.
As per the RN statement, the recent ship-to-ship transfer took place as the CSG sailed towards Japan; over the course of the deployment the drones have carried out nearly 150 deck landings and flown more than 20 hours of sorties in tests.
Involving a dozen nations, the eight-month Operation Highmast mission has taken the task group to the western edge of the Pacific Ocean via the Mediterranean and Middle East, conducting a series of large-scale exercises with and port visits to allies and partners.
Over the course of the deployment, upwards of 4,500 British military personnel have been involved, including nearly 600 RAF and 900 soldiers alongside 2,500 Royal Navy sailors and Royal Marines.
- You can read more details about the drone ship-to-ship transfers on the Royal Navy website