Revealed in a contract for a request for information posted by the British Ministry of Defense, the Royal Navy seeks to acquire a large class of UAVs under “Project Vanquish” to complement it’s manned air wings consisting of F-35B Lightning IIs.
Project Vanquish
The contract posted on October 3rd stipulates that the UAV must have un-assissted short take off and landing (STOL) capability from the Royal Navy’s two Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers while retaining “credible” payload and endurance. Additional requirements place the UAV as a jet-powered aircraft that is capable of reaching high sub-sonic speeds.
Additional mission requirements given by the Royal Navy dictate that the UAV in question must also be multi-role, with the contract stating that it must be able to perform ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance), strike, and air to air refueling. In conjunction with it’s multi-role and carrier borne nature, the UAV is to be able to function autonomously to augment existing capabilities within the Queen Elizabeth-Class’s air-wing.
Project Vanquish is meant to field accelerate teaming capabilities on Royal Navy carriers to augment existing aircraft within a relatively short time frame. Corporations taking part are to submit their proposals by mid-November for an 18-month timeline, with a demonstration taking place on a carrier by the end of next year.
Manned and Unmanned Teaming On Carriers
Manned and Unmanned teaming efforts to enhance the reach of carrier air wings have been going on across the world for sometime now, with efforts originating with Northrop Grumman’s X-47B fielded by the U.S Navy in the early 2000s. However, the X-47B was only to serve as demonstrator, paving the way for future efforts such as Boeing’s MQ-25 Stingray.
The MQ-25 itself was more purpose built as a tanker meant to extend the reach of U.S Navy carrier-based aviation, with the Stingray also being the predecessor to for future unmanned efforts in the U.S Navy, providing a proof of concept in it’s 2021 flight tests.
Current efforts to field a multi-role and combat capable collaborative aircraft have reached a fever pitch, with the United States Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program narrowed down to two proposals made by Anduril and General Atomics. Similar efforts in Turkey have been covered by Naval News, with the drone carrier TCG Anadolu slated to carry large collaborative UCAVs such as BAYRAKTAR’s KIZILELMA.
Unmanned aircraft have graced the decks of Royal Navy carriers in the past, with Naval News covering the launch of a Mojave UAV from HMS Prince of Wales as a part of ongoing efforts to prove the concept viable. However, the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth class carriers present unique circumstances for any heavier and faster aircraft due to the lack of arresting wires to “catch” and slow any efforts made to land, requiring a workaround such as that found in the Vertical Landing capability of the F-35B.
