the British Royal Navy (Royal Navy) assessed the outfitting of its two aircraft carriers with aircraft launch and recovery systems. Queen Elizabeth. The plan seeks to expand the ships’ capabilities to work with a larger type of aircraft model, both manned and unmanned. he Colonel Phil Kellypresident Aircraft carrier attack and naval aviation inside of Royal Navy Development DirectorateDetails of the project were revealed on May 24 during a conference of senior military leaders held in Farnborough, 50 kilometers southwest of London.
Colonel Kelly explained that this ambition is part of a broader program that is exploring the widespread use of drones across the British military’s surface fleet, with a particular focus on future carrier aviation, according to information gathered by Marine News.
two years ago now British Ministry of Defence I confirmed, through a parliamentary question, that the aircraft carriers of the class Queen Elizabeth It could be fitted with catapults “in the next few years” to allow some planes to take off. Then responsible for Defense holdingsAnd Jeremy Quinnoffering that it was expected in the following years to “experiment with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) with ships Royal Navy’, where he formulated the possibility of “including a series of projects looking at the capabilities of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for A-class aircraft carriers.” Queen ElizabethAmong them, he added, are “fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles” and “launch and recovery systems for these capabilities may require assessments that could include catapult systems.”
Go to STOL, then STOBAR and finally CATOBAR
Colonel Kelly has now made it clear that a branch of the The Naval Aviation Force of the Future (FMAF), named Ark Royal Project, explores ways to phase-out the equipment needed for aircraft carriers to deploy unmanned aerial systems in addition to manned fixed-wing aircraft. He explained textually, “We are seeking to get out of Stoffel [como es conocido el procedimiento de despegue corto y aterrizaje vertical que ahora siguen los aviones F-35B que ahora transportan estos portaaviones] to stolen [despegue y aterrizaje cortos]then stopar [despegue corto y recuperación por cable] then to Catobar [despegue asistido por catapulta y recuperación por cable]. We are looking for demonstrable progress that spreads the financial cost and incrementally improves capacity.”
To achieve this, the above means add, first of all, it is necessary to increase the length available for launching the UAV without launching. The first test is scheduled for November, specifically with a drone Mojave With a STOL capacity, from the American General Atomics company, with a system configuration MQ-9 reapers who got Spanish Armed Forces, among others. This device requires a minimum of 300 feet of runway for takeoff (just over 90 meters), although a design applied to aircraft carriers up to 700 feet (over 210 meters) is already in the works.
The next stage is the incorporation of a recovery system into ships, which will have the potential to help support future large fixed-wing unmanned aircraft systems in which FMAF operates, known as vixen.
Finally, the plan considers incorporating a catapult-assisted launch system, which, in Colonel Kelly’s words, “will allow us to operate the heaviest aircraft you can imagine.”
The solution is discarded during construction
The incorporation of catapults and throttle cables for landings, such as those installed on US and French aircraft carriers, had already been contemplated during the construction of these 280-meter British vessels, which entered service in 2017 (Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth) and 2019 (Her Majesty the Prince of Wales). In 2010, a revision of the ship’s design was announced to adapt it to a catapult system, cables for take-off, and braking, for landing. In this way, the ships will be ready to receive the combat aircraft F35Ccapacity greater than F-35Bshort take-off and vertical landing (STVOL), originally planned.
The aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth. picture. Royal Navy
However, the changes led to an increase in cost (estimated to be up to £2,000 million more) and program delays that led the government to revert to the initial version without slings or cables and with an arched ramp to facilitate transportation. Boot version F-35B, which was finally approved. The reversal became an embarrassing moment in ship development and drew criticism from the opposition of then-Prime Minister David Cameron’s government.
Sell the second ship
Great Britain even considered selling the second of the ships, HMS Prince of Wales, when it was still under construction and in view of the fact that, ten years ago, the costs of aircraft carriers were already close to twice what had been expected (6.2 billion pounds against the estimated 3.5 billion in Originally when it was expected to ship in 2007.
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