The UK’s Royal Navy is ready to experiment with operating unmanned aircraft from its aircraft carrier flight decks.
Next month, the Royal Navy will conduct tests of the General Atomics Mojave drone from the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales. The tests could lead on to the Mojave and other drones prefer it being adopted by high-end navies, easing the skyrocketing cost of naval aviation.
Prince of Wales Meets Mojave
In response to Breaking Defense, the Royal Navy will conduct carrier MQ-9B flight tests next month from the HMS Prince of Wales. The Royal Navy stated that the service is “exploring innovation for future carrier ops.” General Atomics describes the Mojave as offering “early warning indicators” to a carrier strike group, a possible reference to the drone’s ability to scout out past the horizon, beyond the range of ship-based radars, detecting enemy threats.
The Prince of Wales is the second of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers and can typically carry about 24 F-35B Lightning II fighter jets on deployments. For now, nonetheless, because the U.K. acquires more qualified pilots and F-35Bs, the 2 carriers only carry eight of the fifth-generation fighters.
The Mojave is a derivative of the MQ-9A Reaper flown by the U.S. Air Force, various NATO air forces, and Japan. The Mojave is designed for expeditionary warfare, with detachable wings that allow it to be transported, for instance, by military cargo aircraft. It’s also short takeoff and landing (STOL) capable, allowing it to take off from shortened airstrips.
Cheaper and a Lack of Options
The last two features are of particular interest to the Royal Navy. A drone with detachable wings could possibly be stored compactly in a carrier hangar, unpacked, and readied for flight only when it is required.
The dearth of aircraft catapults and arresting gear on the Queen Elizabeth class rules out using American carrier aircraft, and as of now the one fixed-wing aircraft that may take off and land from the British carriers is the F-35B Lighting II. The dearth of aircraft that may operate from smaller carriers is an issue not just for the U.K. but in addition Turkey, Italy, Australia, Spain, and Japan.
One other issue likely into account is cost. The F-35B costs about $101.3 million per plane—a number that dates to 2021 and doesn’t include inflation—and costs $42,000 an hour to fly. The U.K. has to account for not only the price of buying the aircraft but in addition the lifetime cost of the aircraft, which currently would amount to $269 million over 4,000 hours. The Mojave drone will probably cost slightly over $32 million each (the price of a MQ-9A Reaper) and $5,000 an hour to fly, for a complete of $52 million over 4,000 hours.
The Royal Navy may eventually need Mojave drones to assist fill its decks. In 2015, the U.K. stated it planned to buy 138 F-35Bs fighter jets, but as of now has committed to purchasing only 74. The 2 Royal Navy carriers can carry as much as 60 jets each in emergencies. If the U.K. doesn’t order more fighters, and it’s not clear it would, there won’t be enough to totally equip each carrier in wartime.
A mixed force of each planes could possibly be a Plan B for the Royal Navy. Mojaves could act as pickets, providing persistent, over-the-horizon surveillance, standing watch against incoming anti-ship missiles or a flotilla of high-speed enemy gunboats. An F-35B can perform the identical mission, but would cost greater than eight times as much per flight hour. A Mojave, or something prefer it, could also eventually conduct other missions the F-35B is entirely unsuited for, like defense against small boat swarms and anti-submarine warfare.
The Takeaway
A drone just like the Mojave won’t entirely replace the F-35B Lightning, but there’s a powerful case for the drones to tackle low-end missions that don’t require an expensive fifth-generation fighter. Other middle-sized navies might be watching next month’s tests fastidiously.
Over the past century, the Royal Navy has enjoyed loads of naval aviation firsts, including the HMS Argus, the world’s first aircraft carrier. Now, greater than 100 years later, it could possibly be on the cusp of a brand new first: the primary operational carrier-based drone force.