Over The Ocean

While they are primarily used by air forces, with armies, following closely behind, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are becoming an asset that naval forces are increasingly interested in operating, although the introduction of them comes with a number of challenges.

- Beth Stevenson

The ultimate aim for naval op-erations is to deploy UAVs from vessels, to provide surveillance around ships and to be used for the overhead watch of an area at stand-offranges; either in isolation or to provide data to neighbouring inhabited aircraft. Systems that are most synonymous with this role include fixed- and rotary-wing UAVs, ranging from the large, helicopter-derived systems like the Northrop Grumman MQ-8B/C Fire Scout aircraft, to the Boeing/Insitu ScanEagle and RQ-21A Blackjack fixed-wing UAVs, all of which are operational with the US Navy. Nevertheless, enhancements are being made to systems developed in Europe and Israel which are gaining interest both domestically and internationally.

Integration of the UAV into the vessel itself is one such challenge, as is developing a system suited to operating at sea. Typically, rotary-wing UAVs have been used in support of this type of operation, taking technology from naval support helicopters. Rotary-wing UAVs are also easier to integrate into vessels, compared to their fixed-wing counterparts as the former’s vertical take-off and landing capability means they require less deck space. That said, a number of technological developments have been made in recent years to integrate new types of aircraft into deck-based operations.

CARRIER OPERATIONS

One such feat was the successful arrested landing of Northrop Grumman’s X-47B Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator onboard the USS George HW Bush ‘Nimitz’ class aircraft carrier in May 2013. This was then followed by a flight test in 2014 that demonstrated the X-47B’s ability to fly from the deck of the USS