HMS Queen Elizabeth hosted trials of two uncrewed aircraft in the North Atlantic in mid-October, testing a British-made Callen-Lenz Nyan one-way drone and a Tekever AR5 from the carrier. The Nyan made multiple flights from the flight deck, while the AR5 operated from a carrier for the first time during Heavy Lift Challenge 3. The Royal Navy is assessing how such systems could support future carrier operations alongside crewed aircraft, including F-35Bs.
The trials covered both strike and support roles. The Nyan is a one-way attack system; the Royal Navy did not specify the number of flights or their results. The AR5, a fixed-wing aircraft with a seven-metre wingspan and an 80kg payload capacity, can support logistics and operational missions. Its use in the exercise also examined how uncrewed aircraft for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance could work alongside strike systems.
The Navy described the work as evidence-gathering to inform decisions on integrating uncrewed systems into future Carrier Strike operations. The trials do not establish either aircraft as an operational part of the carrier air wing. The UK government’s defence investment plan includes more than £5 billion for autonomous systems by 2030, including nearly £250 million for Project Pantheon, which is developing a hybrid carrier air wing.