The T-150 can lift up to 68kg, fly up to 40 minutes and has a top speed of 60mph. Depending on what it’s lifting, the system can fly between 13km and 37.5km day or night and has thermal imaging capabilities.
It will be a valuable asset in the event HMS Trent is dispatched on humanitarian aid and disaster relief missions, helping move critical supplies, deliver food, water and medical aid. It could provide a vital lifeline to communities isolated by a natural disaster.
Neil Appleton, CEO Malloy Aeronautics: “The entire team at Malloy Aeronautics are incredibly proud to see how our T-150 platform has been trialled in the Caribbean. It shows how our in-service platforms are constantly being used in an evolving set of use cases – with the potential for the T-150 to make a vital difference to humanitarian and disaster relief operations.”
The milestone flight marks a significant step forward in the Royal Navy’s exploration of uncrewed aviation capability at sea. During the trial, Scout Flight 700X Naval Air Squadron completed a series of test flights to familiarise both the UAS operators and ship’s company with the procedures required to safely operate the system from a warship.
Launching and recovering from a moving vessel at sea, the trials demonstrated the feasibility of integrating heavy-lift drones into maritime operations and represented an important first step towards future ship-to-shore logistics support.
While HMS Trent’s flight deck is routinely capable of operating aircraft up to the size of a Merlin helicopter, the introduction of an uncrewed air system represents a new and evolving capability for the ship.
Scout Flight Commander, Lieutenant Charles Harper, said: “Working with HMS Trent, we have gained valuable experience in operating uncrewed systems from the flight deck of a River Class Batch 2, paving the way for more complex resupply operations in the future.
“The lessons identified during this activity will inform future training, experimentation and capability development as we continue to explore the potential of uncrewed systems at sea.”