On July 3, the Royal Navy applied lessons learned from Ukraine as it successfully launched a strike-capable drone from a vessel underway. Part of Exercise Neptune Reach, the XV Patrick Blackett catapulted a Nyan drone off the south coast of England.
The recent launch operation was run under Project Vantage, which brought together the Royal Navy 744 Naval Air Squadron, the British Army 26 Royal Artillery, and the Royal Air Force. The purpose is to develop the technology and skills needed for Britain's £5-billion (US$6.7-billion) strategy of developing hybrid armed forces where drones and robots act as force multipliers, with crewed platforms acting more as command and control centers rather than direct combatants and reconnaissance units.
The exercise used a Nyan One-Way Effector built by Callen-Lenz, a subsidiary of BAE Systems FalconWorks. It's an inexpensive (for the military) drone costing about £100,000 (US$132,000) per unit. The Nyan is made of carbon composites, has a wingspan of 9.5 ft (2.9 m), and is propelled by a small turbojet engine featuring a low-observable shielded exhaust nozzle for extra stealth. It has a launch velocity of 107 knots (123 mph, 198 km/h) and a range of over 81 nautical miles (93 miles, 150 km).
One particular feature is that the shipboard launch used a railed pneumatic catapult instead of rockets. Using this system provides instantaneous thrust and is claimed to eliminate a lot of the logistics, thermal signatures, and safety hazards of rockets. In addition, the catapult is modular and relatively simple to transport, assemble, and store by a small team, and it can be mounted on small craft.
The purpose of systems like Nyan is to provide military planners with the ability to respond to modern threats by overwhelming them with thousands of drones at a much lower cost than using conventional missiles or artillery. In order to exploit this capability, trials like this one merge British Army launch procedures and Royal Navy ship operations as well as RAF aircraft functions.
"This trial makes a significant step forward in delivering Maritime One-Way Effectors at pace," said Lieutenant Commander David Burton, Maritime One Way Effectors capability sponsor. "Under Project Vantage we are planning to integrate these capabilities into the Hybrid Navy, combining crewed platforms with uncrewed systems to expand reach, increase tempo and enhance lethality. Working closely with our Army colleagues, this activity demonstrates how we are accelerating Atlantic Strike concepts into practical, deployable capabilities of the Fleet."
Source: Royal Navy
