As part of its renewed Strategic Defence Review, the United Kingdom would be interested in strengthening the capabilities of its Royal Navy Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers with the integration of new long-range missiles not yet revealed, which should be able to be launched from the ship’s deck. The novelty in question adds to the efforts the institution has been making to add new drones on board both ships, which aligns with the objectives set regarding making British fleets more cost-efficient looking toward the future, as evidenced by the recent tests with the Malloy T-150 cargo drones.
Quoting some excerpts from the aforementioned document in this regard: “The Royal Navy must continue moving towards a more powerful, yet more economical and simpler fleet, developing a combination of high-performance equipment and weapons that leverage autonomy and digital integration. The Carrier Strike Groups are already at the forefront of NATO capability, but much faster progress is needed in their evolution towards hybrid embarked air wings, where manned fighter aircraft (F-35B) are complemented by collaborative autonomous aerial platforms and expendable drones. The plans for hybrid embarked air wings should also include long-range precision missiles capable of being fired from the aircraft carrier’s deck.”
In relation to this, it is also important to highlight that British analysts have long been pointing out the fact that the Royal Navy still needs to make progress in acquiring a greater number of F-35B fighters to equip its aircraft carriers, at the risk of them operating below their true combat capabilities. Along those lines, it must be remembered that the country currently has a total of 48 stealth fighters of U.S. origin, while the force’s original intention was to acquire 138 units.
This issue is by no means minor, considering that the institution’s original plans were to have 24 F-35B fighters for each of its aircraft carriers, as well as additional units for pilot training to allow for greater operational flexibility; which, with only 48 aircraft, falls short of the force’s needs. In the final stages of the previous Conservative government, negotiations were underway for the acquisition of 27 more stealth fighters, which would allow the fleet to reach more reasonable numbers, with delivery initially scheduled for 2033.
Returning to what was said earlier about drones, it is feasible to consider that the Royal Navy seeks to compensate with these for part of the capabilities it cannot fully reach with its manned aircraft, including not only the cargo transport tasks between fleet elements that until now were carried out by helicopters and would come to be performed by T-150 systems, but also for reconnaissance and attack missions. In that sense, we can go back to the year 2023, when the new Mojave drones from General Atomics were seen operating from the deck of the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales during exercises off the U.S. coast; there is also the possibility that these will operate alongside future Loyal Wingman-type systems developed for the next generation of fighters.
*Images used for illustrative purposes only
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