Originally Posted by
Nige321
How is Banshee recovered at sea??
It isn't, the trial launches from PoW were 'recovered to land via parachute'; parachute is the normal recovery method. (It's bit too small and light for the planned new barrier arrest system)
Drones launched from HMS Prince of Wales during landmark demonstration
The demonstration with HMS Prince of Wales looked at how the drone and associated support equipment, including launcher, can be integrated within a busy ship and flight deck.
It also looked at installing sub-systems on board and procedures for moving and setting up the drone and kit on the flight deck, which has been a hive of activity as the ship trains with F-35B Lightning jets and participates in the largest military exercise in the UK, Joint Warrior, off the Scottish coast.
Flight Test Engineers and operators from QinetiQ, which owns and operates the Banshee, flew three of the air vehicles from the drone’s launcher on the Hebrides range off the northwest coast of Scotland.
The Banshee launched from the ship and recovered to land via parachute.
The demonstration is showcasing just one of the options as part of Royal Navy Develop Directorate’s Project Vampire, which is looking at lightweight, fixed-wing carrier-borne crewless autonomous systems.
The project forms part of a series of demonstrations that will help define Royal Navy aviation of the future through the Future Maritime Aviation Force, which looks at how the Fleet Air Arm will operate in the years to come.
“It aims to capitalise on the best that industry has to offer working alongside established aviation systems already used across the globe,” added Cdr (Rob) Taylor (lead for Royal Navy Air Test and Evaluation).
“The programme will look at rotary wing and fixed wing drones to fulfil a number of tasks to increase mass on the carriers and allow crewed aircraft to maximise their capacity.
“The Banshee demonstration is just the start of the un-crewed autonomous systems programme of work for the Royal Navy.
