By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
The British Royal Navy broke new ground by demonstrating a first-of-its-kind short-take-off-and-landing drone on its flagship HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier, something which introduces new tactical reach, surveillance and even attack possibilities for maritime warfare.
The drone, called the Mojave Unmanned Aircraft by General Atomics, is an adapted variant of the long-standing, combat tested US Army Gray Eagle medium altitude drone. While the Mojave was demonstrated from the deck of a carrier, it is the kind of system initially developed for austere land locations where there is no runway for fixed-wing drones. As a platform capable of STOL, the Mojave can also operate from other maritime platforms which, unlike carriers, don’t have catapults or arresting gear for deck take-off.
The demonstration took place on November 15, 2023, when the Prince of Wales was underway off the East Coast of the U.S., and the Mojave was controlled by an aircrew within a control station onboard the ship, a statement from General Atomics said. “The demonstration included takeoff, circuits, and approaches and ended with a landing back onto the carrier.”
Vertical take-off drones such as the Fire Scout have existed on US Navy ships for years, and the Navy is still preparing its first-of-a-kind MQ-25 Stingray carrier-launched refueler drone for its Carrier Air Wings. However, although the US Navy and Marine Corps do operate a comparable capability, a STOL fixed wing drone able to launch from destroyers and amphibs could complement the Fire Scout and other ship-launched unmanned systems in an interesting way. The British demonstration did not mention if the Mojave was armed, however the US Army Gray Eagle is indeed armed and it seems feasible that a sea-launched Mojave could be armed as well, something which would clearly increase a Commander’s attack options.
Royal Navy Director Develop, Rear Admiral James Parkin, whose team planned the trial, said: “The Mojave trial is a European first – the first time that a Remotely Piloted Air System of this size has operated to and from an aircraft carrier outside of the United States. The success of this trial heralds a new dawn in how we conduct maritime aviation and is another exciting step in the evolution of the Royal Navy’s Carrier Strike Group into a mixed crewed and uncrewed fighting force.”
A fixed wing STOL drone such as Mojave might offer a more survivable drone option as a smaller target for adversaries while still bringing deck-launched ISR advantages to platforms where it might not otherwise exist.
Kris Osborn is President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
