Royal Navy Drones

[Pelican]

Navy’s drone tech showcased at Yeovilton alongside vintage predecessor

Walrus, meet Walrus.

This is how far naval aviation has come in nine decades. In the foreground, the future: a Walrus drone, designed and built by Royal Navy experts like Leading Air Engineering Technician Dan Barton.

And looming over Dan and the octocopter, a Supermarine Walrus flying boat, mainstay of major warship operations in the 1930s and into the first half of WW2.
The amphibian – over 37ft long, weighing more than three tonnes, crew of four – was launched from cruisers and battleships on numerous duties: gunnery spotting, over-the-horizon reconnaissance, search and rescue.

Its successor, currently being trialled by the RN’s dedicated drone squadron, 700X, based at Culdrose, requires one operator, weighs a mere 20kg, and acts as a prototype for drones which could be used for sustained reconnaissance/gunnery spotting/observation… but not search and rescue (although other crewless systems are being considered for that role).
Continues at - https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... redecessor