Royal Navy Aircraft Carrier Trains with Unmanned Aerial System

QinetiQ’s Banshee UAS can operate at 25,000ft, or just above the waterline, and fly at speeds of up to 400 knots, delivering a realistic adversary to train against By DA Staff / 10 Nov 2021

Discover Leading Defense Technology Solutions

Discover cutting-edge solutions from leading global suppliers
SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT
QinetiQ
Follow DA

QinetiQ has launched its Banshee Jet80+ Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) from the deck of the Royal Navy’s HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier for the first time off U.K. waters to help the carrier’s crew train for real-world scenarios by flying as realistic threat targets.

The demonstration emphasized QinetiQ’s capability to deliver complex training and evaluation exercises for the Royal Navy.

The training demonstration was part of the Royal Navy’s Future Maritime Aviation Force, which looks at how the Fleet Air Arm will operate in years to come. By successfully demonstrating the operation of drones from the deck of aircraft carriers, the Royal Navy will now be able to take the Banshees on board and conduct air defense exercises for both F-35s and ships within the Task Group anywhere around the world, whenever necessary, including while on deployment.

As part of project Vampire, QinetiQ is also working with the Navy to understand further utility for the Banshee for experimentation and the use of differing payloads as part of the wider Maritime UAS strategy.

The Banshees provided the crew of HMS Prince of Wales the opportunity to run drills by emulating cruise missiles and enemy fast jets which may be faced on mission. The Banshee can operate at 25,000ft, or just above the waterline, and fly at speeds of up to 400 knots, delivering a realistic adversary to train against. The use of the drones as enemy aircraft was essential in helping the carriers improve their defense capabilities as the size of the Banshee is representative of an incoming missile on radar systems.

“This demonstration marked a crucial step in the Royal Navy’s future maritime aviation roadmap and its ability to train anywhere in the world with uncrewed assets,” said Phil Kelly, Senior Responsible Owner for the Royal Navy’s Future Maritime Aviation Force.

“The partnership with QinetiQ has proven invaluable in our ability to support our training needs.” 

The demonstration was conducted on the Ministry of Defense (MoD) Hebrides range and contracted through QinetiQ’s Long Term Partnering Agreement (LTPA). Owing to the existing commercial relationship, QinetiQ was able to move at speed to deliver the targets and supporting services to enable the demonstration, achieve U.K. airspace clearances and provide training in unmanned capabilities.

“The demonstration shows how our ongoing partnership with the Ministry of Defense enables all branches of our armed forces to train effectively against threats in a realistic scenario,” said Steve Fitz-Gerald, Group Managing Director Maritime & Land, QinetiQ. 

“The use of crewless technology is paramount to the Royal Navy’s future programs. This demonstration delivers an efficient method of training, ensuring the correct payloads are used against the appropriate target to deliver value for money, whether at home or during deployment overseas. It’s anticipated that this form of training will become best practice in the near future.”

Posted by DA Staff Connect & Contact

Latest Articles

C5ISR & the Evolution of Situational Awareness in Defense Operations

Elistair explores how C5ISR integrates command, intelligence, and combat systems to enhance situational awareness and decision-making in modern military operations

Jul 16, 2025
RF Drone Detection Solution Selected for Integration into C-UAS Capability

Metis will supply a NATO consumer with its Skyperion Radio Frequency (RF) drone detection components for defending airspace, infrastructure and installations against rogue drones

Jul 16, 2025
Static Calibration Techniques for Silicon Designs Accelerometers

Learn how to perform quick, accurate static calibration of Silicon Designs MEMS DC accelerometers using only a voltmeter and gravity, no specialized equipment required

Jul 16, 2025
Disasters Expo USA & Resilient City Expo Co-Locating in Houston

Disasters Expo USA and Resilient City Expo will take place on November 5–6, 2025, bringing professionals to Houston to address crisis response and long-term resilience

Jul 15, 2025
General Digital’s Modular Approach to Rugged Display Design

General Digital outlines how its flexible design approach delivers rugged, customer-tailored military displays, rigorously tested in-house even when formal MIL-STD certification is not required

Jul 15, 2025
Precision Underwater Sensing for Critical Naval & Security Missions

Defense Advancement showcases Impact Subsea's underwater sensing technologies for naval and security missions

Jul 15, 2025

Featured Content

Q&A: How Revector Supports Defense with Mobile Intelligence

This Q&A provides insight into Revector’s technology, detailing its role in covert surveillance, threat detection, and integration with defense and security systems

Jul 14, 2025
New Oscilloquartz Optical Cesium Clocks Enhance Network Timing Precision

Adtran is expanding its Oscilloquartz portfolio with the new OSA 3200 SP and OSA 3250 ePRC optical cesium models, providing improved holdover and simplified maintenance for telecom, data center, utility, and defense networks

Jul 09, 2025
Teledyne FLIR OEM Whitepaper: Synthetic Data Generation for AI Object Detection

Read Teledyne FLIR OEM’s whitepaper on AIMMGen™, a defense-oriented synthetic data and AI model generation pipeline tailored to Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) and object classification tasks

Jul 03, 2025
Advancing Defense Capability Through Strategic Collaboration Defense Advancement works with major OEMs to foster collaboration and increase engagement with SMEs, to accelerate innovation and drive defense capabilities forward.