Britain tests transport drone’s ability to land, take off from ship

LONDON — A twin-engine transport drone has landed on the deck of a British aircraft carrier in what the Royal Navy said is a first for the service.

The drone, dubbed HCMC, flew on and off the deck of the HMS Prince of Wales during a trial near the coast of Cornwall, southwest England, the Royal Navy announced Sept. 7.

The drone, developed by British company W Autonomous Systems, flew for about 20 minutes from an airfield at Predannack to then touch down safely on the carrier’s deck.

After unloading a small payload from drone, it took off again and returned to Predannack.

Members of an autonomous system team inspect the HCMC drone before takeoff. (Courtesy of the British Royal Navy)

The Royal Navy said in its statement that the aim of program is to “deploy drones with a UK Carrier Strike Group in the future, using them to transfer stores and supplies — such as mail or spare parts — between ships, without the need to launch helicopters.”

“It’s a vital step along the way to operating crewless aircraft safely alongside F-35 Lightning jets and naval Merlin and Wildcat helicopters which are currently the backbone of the Fleet Air Arm,” the statement explained.

The twin-boom, twin-engine drone is capable of delivering payloads weighing up to 100 kilograms (220 pounds) with a maximum range of 1,000 kilometers (621 miles). The aircraft incorporates an autopilot system developed by British company Distributed Avionics, which eliminates the need for trained individuals to remotely control it.

The exercise wasn’t the first time a drone operated from the HMS Prince of Wales, with previous experiments including small quadcopters and the Banshee target drone; the latter launches by catapult and use parachutes to land.

However, the Royal Navy said the latest trials were in a “different league,” involving a larger, more capable uncrewed aircraft than anything previously tried.

The HMCM drone flew on and off a Royal Navy aircraft carrier for the first time. (Courtesy of the British Royal Navy)

The trials took place as the ship departed U.K. waters for an event off the East Coast of the United States taking place over the next few months involving drills with F-35 fighters, Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, and the General Atomic-made Mojave drone .

The HMS Prince of Wales was scheduled deploy this time last year, but suffered a propeller shaft failure soon after leaving its base in Portsmouth.

The HCMC drone trial is one of a series of experimental and operational drone programs with the Royal Navy, including a deal with Leonardo to develop an unmanned helicopter demonstrator and the purchase of Schiebel’s Camcopter S-100 for surveillance missions.

Andrew Chuter is the United Kingdom correspondent for Defense News.

伦敦——英国皇家海军称，一架双引擎运输无人机已降落在英国航空母舰的甲板上，这是该军种的首次此类行动。

英国皇家海军于 9 月 7 日宣布，这架名为 HCMC 的无人机在英格兰西南部康沃尔海岸附近的一次试验中，在威尔士亲王号航空母舰的甲板上起降。

这款由英国公司 W Autonomous Systems 开发的无人机从普雷丹纳克机场起飞约 20 分钟，然后安全降落在航母甲板上。

无人机卸载了一小批有效载荷后，再次起飞返回了普雷丹纳克。

自主系统团队成员在胡志明市无人机起飞前对其进行检查。（图片由英国皇家海军提供）

英国皇家海军在声明中表示，该计划的目标是“未来在英国航母打击群中部署无人机，利用无人机在舰船之间运送物资和补给品（例如邮件或备件），而无需出动直升机”。

声明解释说：“这是朝着安全操作无人驾驶飞机迈出的重要一步，这些飞机将与F-35闪电战斗机以及海军梅林和野猫直升机一起运行，而这些飞机目前是舰队航空兵的中坚力量。”

这款双尾撑双引擎无人机能够运送重达100公斤（220磅）的有效载荷，最大航程可达1000公里（621英里）。该无人机配备了由英国分布式航空电子公司（Distributed Avionics）开发的自动驾驶系统，无需专业人员进行远程操控。

这次演习并非无人机首次从威尔士亲王号航母上进行操作，之前的试验包括小型四旋翼无人机和女妖靶机；后者通过弹射器发射，并使用降落伞着陆。

然而，英国皇家海军表示，最新的试验“完全不同”，涉及的无人驾驶飞机比以前尝试过的任何飞机都更大、功能更强大。

英国皇家海军的HMCM无人机首次在皇家海军航空母舰上起降。（图片由英国皇家海军提供）

试验期间，该舰离开英国水域前往美国东海岸参加一项活动，该活动将持续数月，其中包括与 F-35 战斗机、鱼鹰倾转旋翼机和通用原子公司制造的莫哈韦无人机的演习。

威尔士亲王号航空母舰原计划去年这个时候部署，但在离开朴茨茅斯基地后不久就发生了螺旋桨轴故障。

胡志明市无人机试验是英国皇家海军一系列实验性和作战性无人机项目之一，其中包括与莱昂纳多公司合作开发无人直升机演示机，以及购买希贝尔公司的Camcopter S-100无人机用于监视任务。

Andrew Chuter 是《防务新闻》的英国记者。