The UK Royal Navy Banshee drones have now been retired from service, with the Fleet Air Arm team having actually attained its goals.
In 2023, a flight was created by 700X Naval Air Squadron to understand how to fly and operate these high-speed jet-powered drones.With speeds of approximately 400 miles per hour, the drones were a substantial advancement in capability for the squadron.Supplied with Banshee Jet 80+ systems, made by company QinetiQ, the team ran the drones from Predannack Airfield in Cornwall, near their base at RNAS Culdrose.Banshee flight leader Lieutenant Tony Nairn said: The job has not been without its obstacles and the unique principle of trialling a remotely-piloted jet system has actually required durability from inception.The team has actually now established the foundations on which future agile projects can be constructed.
This has been accomplished through substantial generation and recording of the lessons experienced.While the Banshee air system will not end up being an in-service capability, its value must not be undervalued.
In this area of development, what comes next is identified by what was done today.In the build up to this years carrier strike implementation led by HMS Prince of Wales, the Banshees were utilized as targets, imitating incoming dangers to evaluate air defences by the ship and its aircraft.
Exercises have happened where the drones have actually been destroyed by air-to-air missiles from F35 jets and Wildcat attack helicopters.Lieutenant Commander Steve Cooke, the commanding officer of 700X NAS, stated he was pleased with the outcomes of the project, including that the navy is constantly seeking to try new systems in the busy world of drone technology.He included: Banshee has actually offered us invaluable knowledge in how to run high-speed drones.
Its also permitted us to assist with force generation for the carrier strike group.
We are all set now for whatever the next capability will be.The squadron has deployable flights that use Puma, a fixed-wing reconnaissance drone which can be quickly released without the requirement for flight deck.
Last year it successfully trialled remotely-piloted mini-helicopters called Peregrine, which have actually been used successfully with HMS Lancaster in the Gulf.This year it is presenting the Malloy T-150, an octo-copter load-lifting drone that will be used for the very first time to transfer provided between ships throughout the 2025 provider strike deployment.Source: UK Royal Navy