The UK Royal Navy (RN) has trialled and operated its Malloy T-150B uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) from a River-class Batch 2 offshore patrol vessel (OPV) for the first time.
This activity, conducted onboard HMS Trent while the ship is at sea on operations in the Caribbean, means the navy has now deployed the T-150B capability on four separate ship types: the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers; the Type 45 destroyers; the Tide-class auxiliary vessels; and, now, the Batch 2 River OPVs.
The RN intends to continue expanding this capability, with developments like the deployment onboard Trent illustrating this aim. “The lessons identified during this activity will inform future training, experimentation, and capability development, as we continue to explore the potential of uncrewed systems at sea,” Lieutenant Charles Harper – flight commander for the team from 700X Naval Air Squadron (the unit that develops and deploys the navy’s UAVs) and embarked on Trent – said in a navy statement. Such potential developments could include conducting more complex resupply operations going forward.
The T-150B is an octocopter the RN uses as a heavy-lift UAV for logistics supply. It can carry a 63 kg payload over ranges of up to 37.5 km in winds of up to 30 kt, delivering the payload either via a clip fitting on the UAV’s underside or using a 15 m drop-down cable.
Previously, across the navy’s other platform deployments, the T-150B was used for ship-to-ship supplies transfer. The trials and operational sorties onboard Trent were designed to develop and demonstrate the capacity to conduct ship-to-shore activities.
The flexible delivery options plus the ship-to-shore capability mean the T-150B is ideally suited to support one of Trent’s primary operational tasks in the Caribbean – providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) response capacity during the region’s hurricane season. In its statement, the navy said the capability could provide a “vital lifeline” within HADR missions, delivering food, water, medical, and other critical supplies to isolated locations.
The River-class OPVs have a flight deck large enough to accommodate a Merlin helicopter. However, the activities conducted with the T-150B are delivering a new capability for the class, while also representing another step forward in the RN’s continuing exploration of options for generating uncrewed aviation capability at sea.
by Dr. Lee Willett
