Royal Navy launches strike drones from HMS Queen Elizabeth carrier for first time
The Royal Navy has for the first time sent strike drones aloft from an aircraft carrier, during trials in the North Atlantic aboard the flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth, according to the defence news site Militarnyi.
Several kinds of unmanned aircraft took off in the tests, Militarnyi reported, among them Nyan Maritime loitering munitions and a reconnaissance drone, the Tekever AR5. Loitering munitions are drones that fly to a target area and strike it, and they are often described as one-way attack drones.
Aim of the trials
British company Callen-Lenz manufactures the loitering munitions, Militarnyi said. The outlet reported that the chief goal was to show that autonomous strike systems can work together with piloted F-35B fighter jets.
The Royal Navy says drones will considerably extend the reach, flexibility and firepower of its carriers, and will keep personnel further from danger, according to Militarnyi.
Militarnyi said the Nyan drones had already completed maritime tests before the carrier trials. Earlier this year they were launched from the experimental vessel XV Patrick Blackett, and the outlet previously reported that in June 2026 a Nyan munition was launched from a catapult during tests aboard that vessel.
Project Ark Royal
The Royal Navy is also pushing for Project Ark Royal, a plan to turn its carriers into platforms for unmanned aviation, Militarnyi reported. The plan was unveiled in May 2023 at the Combined Naval Event in Farnborough and was tied to the wider Future Maritime Aviation Force initiative, which was meant to define the future of British naval aviation.
According to Militarnyi, the central idea was not to replace piloted aircraft with drones but to add to carrier strike groups' combat capabilities with unmanned systems. The drones were meant to complement F-35B jets by providing reconnaissance, airborne radar surveillance, electronic warfare, aerial refueling and strike capabilities.
A 2023 Royal Navy presentation said there were not enough F-35s to fully back the combat capabilities of both carriers, Militarnyi said. The navy also sought to extend aircraft range and time on station and to enlarge carrier air wings without a proportional increase in pilots and other personnel, and unmanned aircraft were expected to help with some of these challenges.
