First fixed wing drone lands on a Royal Navy aircraft carrier

More details here: www.navylookout.com/the-first...
In a pioneering flight, a cargo drone flew from Predannack airfield on the Lizard Peninsula out to HMS Prince of Wales off the Cornish coast, delivered supplies, took off again and flew back.
The goal is to utilise this type of drone to transfer stores and supplies such as mail or spare parts from ashore or between ships without the need to use much more expensive helicopters.
The twin-engine light alloy twin-boom UAS made by W Autonomous Systems (WAS) is capable of carrying a payload of 100kg up to 1,000 km. It can operate from rough strips and needs less than half the length of the carrier's flight deck to get airborne.
Footage: Royal Navy and WAS
(Unfortunately, a bug landed on the tail camera lens just before landing!)
#royalnavy #aircraftcarrier #hmsprinceofwales #drone

[@sarkybugger5009]

Rest in peace, bug @2:18. Your success in spoiling the video of this historic flight will not be forgotten.

[@ethanbond1569]

Think a lot of people are missing the point here. The use of off the shelf parts makes it good engineering design not a embarrassing cost cutting exercise. You don't need a million pound aircraft to deliver baked beans and people's letters.

[@timmurphy5541]

...or a critical component for an aircraft.

[@jim2lane]

Personally, I prefer my baked beans delivered promptly and safely sir!

[@bugattieb110ss]

Still looks like an embarrassing, cobbled-together cost-cutting exercise though.

[@DerekPilkington]

​@@bugattieb110sslooks are nothing, if it works and has a pricepoint

[@timmurphy5541]

@@bugattieb110ss it's obviously a cost cutting exercise as it's trying to be commercially viable for royal mail and that is a challenge. It must have very redundant systems so no single failure can stop it and it must fly in all kinds of weather. What do you want? Something a kid designed to look cool or something functional?

[@thebestofj.fraley]

You Britts have a beautiful ship, and Congrats on the drone landing. It initially didn't seem to be the greatest landing ever, but if there was a pilot, he would have walked away. ❤❤❤ from your brothers and sisters across the pond.

[@VitalityMassage]

Growing up with a father that loved building RC planes, we never imagined the impact on so many things that our hobby would turn into! It's absolutely AMAZING! We can only hope they're used for the GOOD of humanity and not evil.

[@alanb9337]

Swoop Aero's (Australia) 'Kite' small uav drone is primarily designed for humanitarian assistance/ medical. Specced to carry 3kg/ 7lbs of urgent medicine etc 175km/ 109 miles at speeds up to 200km/h, 125mph.

[@MrMassivefavour]

Unlikely I'm afraid

[@alanb9337]

​@@MrMassivefavour DeltaQuad's (Netherlands) ProVTOL UAV has a claimed flight range of 150km (93 miles)with the optional extra battery pack. Autoflight (Germany) holds the record with the Prosperity 1 'fullsize' eVTOL with 250.3km (156miles) flown on a circuit, average speed 154km/h, 96 mph with 20 minutes of battery indicated remaining.

[@MrMassivefavour]

@@alanb9337 No.... I meant the chances of them being used for good are slim at best. The death industry is too powerful

[@robertcook2572]

@@MrMassivefavour Surely deterring aggression is about the most good that anyone can do - no-one gets hurt.

[@paulsmith1494]

Looks like it's been built by the local comprehensive school metalwork class! Eminently practical by the looks of things.

[@charliedobbie8916]

If you can't build it in a shed, it's not worth 'aving.

[@andrewholdaway813]

'Least it's not cardboard.

[@bryanbrookes6366]

​@@andrewholdaway813if it was that size and cardboard send it to Ukraine seen the damage they did with thd small ones.

[@bryanbrookes6366]

​@@charliedobbie8916it reminds me of robot wars that use to be on the BBC.

[@raymondo162]

TOYS R US

[@Rushmore222]

Compared to a fighter coming in hot, that aircraft is weightless. Those things make superb cargo shuttles. I'm surprised it took this long to perfect it. You would imagine that might have been a Cold War carrier accessory with all the Everest sized mountains of money reserved for military spending back then.

[@various6532]

Some good points, although the military could have perfected and made one of these years ago. The cost would have stemmed into the tens of millions per craft. These crafts are **substantially** cheaper since they are commercially built and designed.

[@thetruthhurts7675]

Drones were used back in the 1970's/80's. There were autonomous launch and forget, but were used entirely for target practice. Fleet Target Group had 5 types of drones for various jobs one just towed an airbourne target around a half a mile behind it. Nearly all of them ended up in the sea, because memory back then was so small!!

[@gregs7562]

As I understand it the Royal Mail has been using this type of drone for mail deliveries to small islands around the UK. This is an excellent use for such an aircraft. Will save millions of £ and valuable flight hours on Wildcats & Merlins doing small cargo runs.

[@ATH_Berkshire]

It would have been impossible to develop a drone like this during the Cold War, it would probably have been impossible 10 years ago. The important thing to remember about this drone is that it is autonomous. It doesn’t have an operator controlling it like at big RC model. The drone has both the sensors and computer power to make an approach and landing on the carrier without operator intervention.

[@sjsomething4936]

@@ATH_Berkshirethank you for this comment, was looking for exactly this information!

[@admiralmallard7500]

Been waiting for this!

[@shaunnoble783]

Same drone Royal Mail uses for the Scottish islands now.

[@krashd]

And was used to ferry stuff to the Isle of Mann during Covid.

[@davidgill2592]

All that was missing was a remote controlled model car painted in chequerboard pattern with an illuminated sign on the roof saying "FOLLOW ME"

[@grahamthebaronhesketh.]

Brilliant. Drones are the future.

[@Norfolkyakker]

No drones are now, brits are just behind

[@davidty2006]

considering drones are cheaper to operate than regular aircraft with the notable ability of not killing the pilot when crashing, i can see the entire british air wings using them because it saves massive costs and keeps the limited number of pilots safe.

[@Norfolkyakker]

@@davidty2006 It's actually quite scary. In that, it's easier to go to war with no risk to pilots.

[@grahamthebaronhesketh.]

@@davidty2006 Pus they do combat missions and pull more g force than whith a pilot.

[@tonydolton4544]

Beautiful

[@j.t.jaeger1595]

Definitely one for the Top Drone academy, the best of the best.

[@DerekPilkington]

Great too see a truly inexpensive but air proven drone, im guessing this is a sub 1mil option - this is what we need

[@DerekPilkington]

@calebjohnson6423 exactly. It's the perfect solution in my eyes. Unfortunately most of these comments seem to be based solely on looks, or comparing to a RC plane - which it clearly isn't.. I can see WAS? Leading the way in this technology

[@timn4481]

its videos like this that remind me of the time year ago that some dude in melbourne used a DJI drone to buy a BBQ sausage from Bunnings via a bag and a hook.

[@coolersmoke]

I'm not critiquing the design as some people are; it's a practical, low-cost UAV with a very specific purpose. My one concern is that it will probably only be able to fly in the lightest of weather. Which places like the North Sea are not exactly known for.

[@apok1980]

Agreed, but the proof of concept will most likely lead to a variety of specific mission designs that can deal with the challenges. Also, when you think about it, you could automate this with beacons from shore to ship, where the drone loiters until an operator on the ship can take control for landings. To me, this is an advancement that will grow in the military, then expand into the civilian sectors. Sort of a new milestone in drones. Kind of like the airplanes sinking a ship in the interwar period between ww1 and ww2 where they showed how easy it is to take out a battleship.

[@thePronto]

1:19 "Tower, this is Ghostrider, requesting a flyby." Tower: "Abso-bloody-lutely not, 'Maverick', just land the sodding thing. I want some brandy after dinner, thank you very much."

[@leonilsonsilva5937]

Os drones há anos estão despontando em seus diversos tamanhos, propulsão e utilidades. Parabéns a Real Marinha Britânica 🇬🇧🇧🇷

[@GaryJohnWalker1]

Nice. I'm sure Shapps has praised the RAF for this achievement :-)

[@RogersRamblings]

You little tinker, be nice. 🤣

[@cluckingbells]

Excellent. The weather will turn at some point and it will be interesting to see how it adapts and learns from those different weather conditions. Practice makes perfect 👍

[@geo.m1639]

Considering it’s weight, it will be impossible to operate in most conditions the navy face

[@cluckingbells]

@@geo.m1639 I'm more interested in its AI than the current fuselage design.

[@geo.m1639]

@@cluckingbells it’s not AI, it’s controlled by a human remotely

[@spence_the_buffet_slayer]

@@geo.m1639not correct. It can be flown autonomously or manually. This was landed manually because the autopilot has not been tested with a runway that pitches up and down about 8 feet on a calm sea. It has already proven itself in bad weather conditions flying in the Orkney & Shetland islands.

[@geo.m1639]

@@spence_the_buffet_slayer I don’t think you understand the concept of autopilot…

[@354sd]

Amazing little machine

[@mglmouser]

That thing was definitely drawn with a ruler.

[@SISU889]

This reminds me very much of a quarter scale RC model I used to fly !

[@hlcepeda]

This one though can deliver a couple of dozen pizzas! Dominoes: _50 miles out at sea? No problem!_

[@peteredridge9559]

Please don't insult rc modellers with that comparison.

[@SISU889]

@@peteredridge9559 Why's that an insult ? I've seen RC flying witches , thunderbird 5 I think and a red kite slope soarer .

[@cheechU38K]

Reminds me of the Royal Mail drone 🤔 great example of autonomous plane flying to an aircraft carrier. Now let’s see how it goes with full deck movements 🇬🇧

[@Sajuuk]

That little thing is a cargo beast!

[@nickwalter9630]

Reminds me of one of those shopping trollies with wings attached pushed off Brighton Pier over a wet Bank Holiday weekend.

[@jonshellmusic]

That thing is just adorable!

[@weirdguy564]

As an avionics tech of 29 years experience at Duncan Aviation (business jets) I can tell you that autopilot computers do the flying. Pilots are just there to talk on the radio, and to do the takeoff and landings. They don't fly the planes. They watch the autopilot fly it. Drones are not a big leap forward from that.

[@americanrambler4972]

This is defiantly not an expensive Grumman X-47b drone. But it makes for a great training and lab project for testing out proof of concept and working out everything you need to do to support using drones for shipboard supply operations. I suspect their are a ton of things that can be accomplished while using this pocket change almost toy airplane. And lessons learned quickly incorporated and applied.

[@dusty4459]

It delivered a single message "Sir your dog is dead"

[@TheWorldsOkayestUSMarine]

Congratulations to the British. I feel like this is one of the most fuel/ manpower-efficient ways to ferry cargo to and from a carrier.

[@various6532]

Factual and concise... you get it. Shame about most of the other dick wallets on here.

[@kevinburke5213]

Excellent work simple cost effective and most importantly can be built quick and independent of any nation. Imagine whilst this is doing the post run the helicopter can be doing other work or just resting again this is excellent.

[@craig2188]

Simple, yet brilliant, idea.

[@peteredridge9559]

Sure, if this was 1925, best ever.

[@PotatoSalad614]

@@peteredridge9559 yes because they had drones in 1925...

[@TheLoremistress]

I'm curious. What was the liquid they decanted, packaged and returned? The use of off the shelf components, is great, adherence to KISS principles and not reinvent the proverbial wheel.

[@phil.willoughby]

Bottle says: Fuel. Aviation. Turbine Engine. I guess it's a sample from stores to go to a lab to verify that it's still within specs.

[@INTERCONfly]

That looks pretty easy. This technology is going to advance rapidly.

[@Paiadakine]

very nice. was this autonomous? add clean camera lens on the pre flight check list.

[@paulbrennan3996]

Good bit of engineering and skill to land on an aircraft carrier 👍👏🤝🙏 Bravo and well done 🤝

[@sailwesterly5444]

Good effort. Good engineering. Thinking out the box. Must be the RN.

[@michaelmcginn7260]

Good flying that drone pilot.

[@LilKing420s]

Is this drone fully autonomous? Or is there a remote pilot controlling it to some degree?

[@krashd]

It can be both but at this stage it is remotely landed until they have enough landings for the AI to mimic.

[@andrewgent5887]

Could have given that camera lens a wipe down for the journey back!

[@TheShanampan]

Just......amazing

[@MrZOMBIE170]

Seem like it came from the local RC club

[@GaryFOBrien]

Defo .. Paint falling off , embarrassing to watch , Iran makes better looking drones .. I don’t care it’s purpose it looks shite .

[@gregs7562]

Royal Mail more like. They already use these for deliveries to small islands. Mostly landing on the beech at low tide iirc.

[@lascm5237]

Who’d have imagined that the prop would make such a significant contribution in the modern world of warfare - looks like a scaled down Swordfish 🫡🇬🇧🇸🇪🇺🇦

[@nemo6686]

More like a pair of scaled-down Pucaras bolted together.

[@scotttait2197]

Nothing like a swordfish that was a bi-plane

[@taylor210904]

Aah that well known twin engined monoplane that took out the Tirpitz in WW2!

[@lascm5237]

@@taylor210904 nah, get it right, that was the Phantom 4 along with the Harrier 🫡

[@dianeunderhill8506]

@@taylor210904 It was a Swordfish that damaged the Bismarck's rudder with a torpedo, the Bismarck could only go around in circles making it an easy prey for the Royal Navy to finish off.The Tirpitz was destroyed by Lancasters 617 Squadron (the Dambusters).

[@peterclark8208]

Shame about the bug splat on the camera as it touched down!! 😂

[@kernow..exp.]

History in the making a nice to see from Cornish soil

[@davec5153]

Are you being sarcastic " history in the making" its embarrassing to the country.

[@alexharden6396]

@@davec5153 ?????????? how

[@ThisOldManOfTheSea]

We all know it was really the Captain’s Amazon Prime delivery of John Nichol’s latest book Harrier. 😉 I recall watching a tethered flying-bedstead taking off in a VTOL experiment in 1954 and look at what that lead to. I’m sure this latest innovation will go through cycles of refinement, and as long as some government doesn’t cancel it like TSR2, it will lead to something significant. 👏

[@twoeggcups]

Good choice of materials to absolutely maximise radar return. This does look like a school project rather than a state of the art military tool.

[@thewalrus6833]

@@twoeggcups It's not supposed to be a state of the art military tool, it's for delivering supplies and letters etc for the people on the ship, instead of using expensive helicopters.

[@jimmysweat2200]

That is one pretty ship

[@Travis_22]

About the only aircraft we can afford to populate the carriers with.

[@christopherrobinson7541]

It is called F-35 Light

[@Travis_22]

@@christopherrobinson7541 lol

[@edc8388]

I can see why they cleared the flight deck first ... I think the drone pilot had been at the Lady Petrol !! Nice short take off though. What an interesting modern time we live it (Jack Aubrey !)

[@various6532]

It does look a little wobbly, but please bear in mind the pilot is actually a computer (full autopilot take off and landing), and the aircraft carrier is moving at about 10 knots as well as the flight deck raising and lowering by approx 9ft.

[@edc8388]

@@various6532 I served on several of the things, I know how they work !

[@Oxley016]

AI pilot, no human input. The machine is still learning and teaching itself to fly and land on a carrier. That's why this is a test.

Royal Navy was clever/safety-minded: did you notice there were no expensive F-35 nor helicopters on deck?

[@krashd]

Nothing is ever kept on the deck of our carriers, helicopters are always below deck unless used and the F-35 is a stealth plane so it must be kept below deck in atmosphere controlled hangars when not in use to preserve the stealth paint/coating.

[@sirclarkmarz]

Looks like one of the radio controlled planes I build in my garage

[@kkiwi54]

Hey look, the cargo drone's coming - I didn't know it was coming today 🤔 💥BOOM!💥

[@kevon_shabangu]

They need to add formula one style cameras(The T cam mostly) where the camera can clean itself if there's water or debris

[@DerekPilkington]

I assume the camera was purely for the press / provided by the press. It flew BVLOS with autopilot. Not via a camera

[@seniorslaphead8336]

That thing couldn't hurt a fly... oh, wait...

[@Oxley016]

I think this is supposed to be more of a utility or recon drone and would replace a lot of work the old and expensive to fuel and maintain helicopters currently do. There are other drone projects ongoing that are more combat focussed.

[@dren4805]

Rip the fly

[@WarhammerWings]

Splattered all over the tail camera! 😂

[@BamaLam4]

I think countries will start making drone carriers, and they will be like battleships reborn.

[@johnord684]

The Chinese already are making one

[@reekpeekseek]

​@@johnord684so does turkey, Japan and a number of other countries

[@cageordie]

In what way? They won't be armored, they won't be fast, and they won't deliver a 2,700 pound armor piercing high explosive shell along with eight friends. They also won't be a massive liability likely to be sunk in days and unlikely to ever get within range of a suitable target.

[@BamaLam4]

@cageordie That's a lot of assumptions you're making. I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you.

[@Oxley016]

You mean like aircraft carriers reborn? Because they would be carrying aircraft and be an all new modern version?

[@Ichwillkeinenaliascheisyoutube]

A little step in aviation history.... 🙂

[@thewatcher5271]

That Was Great! It's Hard To Believe It Can Do That Autonomously. Can It Also Be Operated Remotely By A Pilot? Thank You.

[@steggs69]

I always wondered why that flight deck was so enormous... There you go.

[@dabogeyman6280]

Royal Navy getting Deliveroo, who'd of thunk it, Amazon be right onto this next

[@ChrisM541]

Nice. I wonder to what level the ship/ship's computer communicates with the drone e.g supplying relevant final navigation and landing data, including landing target height above/below current swell (for touchdown tolerance).

[@colintuffs568]

Same question . Is it controlled by land base or from the ship ? Or both . Is this the birth of pilot less warfare as in Ukraine. Are all our gameplaying children secretely being trained ? This drone looked as if it could be produced in someone's garage , the electronics sold as an add on kit .

[@lcfflc3887]

what do you mean, this wasn't an all autonomous flight with landing.

[@1over137]

The real challenge there is the pilot cannot "feel" the draft off the back off the ship. As soon as it passes the threshold it falls, a common issue, but a pilot with his bum in the seat waiting for it, will feel it in his bones and respond automatically. Being remote flying with goggles or a screen doesn't give you that tactile contact.

[@Blaidd7542]

There is no pilot, the drone took off, flew and landed itself autonomously.

[@timwhite3030]

Great idea. Looks like the drone needs some more development. The roll Chanel is clearly hunting and over controlling causing correction oscillations. The pitch also looked to have the same issue during the flair and landing. But not bad for a first try of a prototype.

[@davidhouseman4328]

It's a big piece of real estate to use when you don't need fighter performance.

[@various6532]

This helps reduce the cost... significantly.

[@Oxley016]

What does this even mean

[@sachmo0196]

Innovation YES!!! Motorcycle shocks, lawn mower wheels?...Just low cost, off the shelf sh*t. Love it. Now check out the Harrier landing some E-5 made for (no nose wheel landing). $50-100 wooden nose crate! Funny, I suggested we swap our "flight line goggles" to OAKLEYS in the late 80's (not a peep)...Then they started appearing! Guess it's who ya know. I did get one thing done though...The "Emergency break-away" on a Trail Line Assy for SAR litters. Used to require a zig-zag sewing machine to attach (no one had!), to... hand stitch! (Easy/quick, and broke at same tension). Oh well LGO :)

[@metocvideo]

“The mission was nearly aborted because of a massive bug-strike…”

[@paulross1296]

So for everybody going off on one about the drone. It is a concept drone. The first time one has landed on the carrier. Why would you try to land a multimillion pound Reaper drone when it has never been done on a UK carrier before? That dron more likley cost less that 100,000 GBP.

[@robertheywood5523]

Am I right in thinking that this style of drone was used/tested flying medical supplies onto the Isle of Wight during the pandemic? Not only but also used by Royal Mail in the Orkneys

[@krashd]

It was.

[@Kurzula5150]

I hereby name this drone 'Bug Splat'.

[@Alan-321]

Beautiful scenery, with perfect weather. Is there a reason why when taking off, it never used the ramp ? Thank you.

[@various6532]

It didn't need to. The take off and landing distances needed are quite small for this craft.

[@Alan-321]

​@@various6532. Thank you

[@kernowboy137]

Looked like the Cornish coast!

[@davec5153]

Its not got the horse power to make it up such a steep slope.

[@xxDeath99Starxx]

the cope slope is for jets, little shit drones like this made in someone's back garden don't need to use it.

[@gilbert291]

Really interesting proof of concept vehicle. The mission would have generated a ton of data and experience that can be studied and used to onward develop the concept. This is a really significant flight: when an operational version enters service it will probably be 10% of the cost of a helo with less than 10% of the operating costs and much less intensive in terms of support and maintenance, space and manpower. The fact that it looks "cheap" is pretty irrelevant; it worked and there is huge scope for development. I wonder what the next version will be capable of?

[@Don.Challenger]

So, since the bug splatter (or was it a seagull's bowel movement) occurred near to the carrier landing, was that bug a member of the HMS Prince of Wales voluntary crew or was it just some random seaborne meetup? On approach the deck of the carrier seemed desolately bare - how often are they that way? All the other video I have seen of carriers from the air or on deck they have been busy with action and cluttered with crew workgroups and aircraft of various types - this one looked way too shipshape and stowed away with any crew only seen in the last moments. Anyway, very good Royal Navy and WAS for that successful initial autonomous flight and many more safe cargo full future round trips. Reply

[@Kakarot64.]

Fully automated landing test the expensive aircraft were in the hanger so they don't get smashed up if the autopilot messes up plus unlike US carriers the vast majority of the British carriers airwings fit inside the hanger and don't get parked on the top deck for extended periods as difference in doctrine (this is also why the stated figures for airwings seem rather small for a 60k+ ton carrier little bit of help from MOD penny pinching for the complement aize as well though)

[@coolersmoke]

@@Kakarot64. It was a manual landing. At 2:49 for instance, you can clearly see the drone pilot on the right dressed in blue, holding the RC unit.

[@romanroad483]

@@coolersmoke I think you may be right. Look at 2:22 and 2:27, only four people in an exposed position on the flight deck. Looks like 2 fire crew, the pilot, holding the remote controller and his "spotter" to keep the pilot safe. Also the landing alignment drifts during the final phase, not what I would expect from an autopilot control.

[@ziggurat-builder8755]

Hurray. Planes without pilots. Oh, I cannot wait. What a bright future we have in store.

[@horsenuts1831]

Interesting fact, the runway where it takes off is about 100ft south of the 50th parallel.

[@thePronto]

Being 'South of the 50th parallel' is something that runway has in common with most of the world.

[@JBofBrisbane]

@@thePronto yeah, but so close to it?

[@thePronto]

@@JBofBrisbane it's an imaginary line based on a system that assumes the Earth is spherical, which we know is false.

[@cornishcactus]

it's also about 100' from where i was the day before

[@krashd]

@@thePronto They didn't just say "south of the 50th parallel" though, did they? You are leaving out a very important part of the original comment.

[@shuntera]

That drone looks like it was made in my high school metalwork class

[@DerekPilkington]

They did a good job of it

[@markpitts5194]

looks like it could do with some crow braking after watching the land landing. It just WANTS to keep flying!

[@MrAnderson321]

🤣Was this the winner of scrap heap challenge?

[@arthur1670]

nice sunny day aircraft to safe wear and tear on the big brothers engines and airframe

[@robertstack6844]

i came to see the drone, i stayed for the guitar riff

[@TheSlugstoppa]

Once upon a time I would have sneered at this machine, but not now, seeing as how fragile powered kites and boats that could submerge yet both able to sink Battleships.

[@yobb89]

doing some sort of fuel tank test sample for a lab ?

[@rjmun580]

Why are people so obsessed with the appearance of the drone. The Royal Navy state that this is the first stage of a development programme so why would it look like anything other than a prototype? The main thing is that it was tested and it worked.

[@Fester_]

Is Khalife on board.?

[@Dr.D00p]

I see they cleared the flight deck of all the very expensive helicopters for the landing, just in case it all went pear shaped😅 Also, this flight was completely automated, there was no human piloting it from a ground station on land or the carrier.

[@waynester71]

And F35’s

[@spence_the_buffet_slayer]

Not true, in this case it had a manual pilot at both ends.

[@cageordie]

They just did it when the air wing wasn't onboard. If it had been flying autonomously it would probably have done a much neater approach. You can always tell when the pilot switches off the autopilot because you start wandering around.

[@alexmcmeekin2658]

You can clearly see the manual pilot on the carrier deck on landing. Also the carrier landing was very nearly short! It was bouncing on the deck literally just after the threshold.

[@RobertLewis-el9ub]

Sorry it looks too functional for military use. We need to add manufacture from composite materials, mission support package, counter measures, de-icing, optional weapon enhancement, floatation system for over water operations. So we should be able to keep cost down to $5-10m per aircraft - great buy!

[@caw25sha]

This is the hatchback so I wonder whether they'll build an estate.

[@chris6770]

Control stability and skill of the remote pilot (or AI?) needs a little improving, but definitey a step in the right direction. It's going to be a drone heavy (and heavy drone) future for the Navy. Thanks for posting.

[@godalmighty83]

It's entirely AI operated.

[@jameswhitbread574]

Also note that the carrier is at sea…the deck isn’t 100% still, rising and falling constantly makes that a fairly solid landing

[@cageordie]

@@godalmighty83 Well it's not very good. More than 20 years ago the USN was hosting tests of drones and complained that the tail hook was wearing a spot in the deck. It always hit the same spot. Every time.

[@jameswhitbread574]

@@cageordieif it isn’t very good, why not share your wealth of knowledge and expertise with the class? Also, I doubt those drones were 100% autonomous…I may be wrong…

[@godalmighty83]

@@cageordie Oh, wow. That's very impressive. And how much did that cost? As this programme is made from off the shelf parts and is designed to cost less than the fuel a helo would use doing the same job.

[@ScienceChap]

Anyone else got the Top Gun sound track running in their heads?

[@jameswhitbread574]

Oh yes!!!

[@Sandhoeflyerhome]

Looks like something "Silver Cross" the pram maker might have knocked up.

[@metocvideo]

Very proud to see it, but you have to admit, it the Americans were doing it, it would be some sexy ultra sci-fi plane with missiles on it, but being British, it looks like it came out of a garden shed. Should have a Wallace and Gromit sticker on it.

[@juleswombat5309]

Where is it stated that this was a fully autonomous drone aircraft, and not 'just' pilot radio controlled landing?

[@Matlockization]

This is the dawning of the age of the drone.

Well it started 563 days ago!

[@Matlockization]

@ Yes.

[@andrewdiack8162]

Should have done this at Scapa Flo!

[@fatfreddyscoat7564]

Is it autonomous or radio controlled?

[@DerekPilkington]

Autonomous

[@boeing-lt4el]

Radio control takeoff, auto cruise, radio control landing

[@DerekPilkington]

@boeing-lt4el website quotes "The drones incorporate a ground-breaking autopilot system, eliminating the need to be controlled remotely by trained pilots"

[@boeing-lt4el]

@@DerekPilkington all the website say that. And it will be in the future. But at this stage its R/C. You can see the pilot with the controller in his hands, wearing a blue suit during the landing. The carrier must be fitted with sensors to enable an Auto landing. That has not been done yet. This is just a feasibility trial. You can also tell the first takeoff was manual by the rudder movements.

[@DerekPilkington]

@boeing-lt4el I'd Guess they are Safetly pilots to please the CAA etc. It clearly has systems on board top and bottom.. and to land that smoothly on something moving forward whilst going up and down on the sea, I don't think any R/C operator is that good. What if the R/C didn't connect. What if its frequency was/is jammed by the carrier. Looking at the groups website, I'd be Inclined still to say it was auto

[@Swatmat]

Kinda wanted to see it use the ski jump

[@thisisus.504]

Beautiful photography. I was expecting the drone to be a little more high tech' in appearance. If you compare the visuals of a reaper? No disrespect to anybody whatsoever. An amazing feat of engineering.

[@PotatoSalad614]

It looks like it was built in a garden shed. Its definitely British

[@chrismac2234]

Winkle would be proud.

[@JammyDodger45]

I doubt it, this would have done him out of a job 😊

[@dugnology]

Has the Vincent Burnelli called yet?

[@ktreier]

Remotely piloted, or autonomous?

[@various6532]

Autonomous.

[@robinwells8879]

Not sure if you could deliver a visiting Admiral with it other than in self assembly form but that’s pretty cool. 😂. I have an RC flight simulator but, try as I might, I cannot master flying it other than in cockpit view!🙄😒