UAV Marine – The trial of Unmanned Aerial System in a maritime environment is underway according to the media (well The Times), who report that Britain will consider flying an Unmanned Aerial System from the new QUEEN ELIZABETH Class Aircraft Carriers.   The MoD (or rather one of their Minsters) say this as a misleading representation – saying "We are about to embark on a concept of use demonstration trial to see whether for surveillance purposes a maritime system could be deployed in the future. It is not presently anything past a demonstration phase. I think it is perhaps not a surprise that we are thinking of some trialling, some capability for future use."

This statement refers to an ongoing trial of a small, generic, UAS platform in the maritime environment. The trial involves flying the platform from a Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel to assess the capability of a small surveillance UAS in the maritime environment and assist the MoD to become a better informed customer for any potential future requirement. An initial flight from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel has taken place and was successful.    This trial does not involve aircraft carriers, is not assessing whether the UAS could be flown from aircraft carriers specifically, and there is no current programme for this system to be bought.   This is quite a sad reflection on the limited outlook of our “thinkers” at the MoD.