Royal Navy tests strike drone launches from HMS Queen Elizabeth

The Royal Navy launched its Nyan strike drone four times from HMS Queen Elizabeth during a North Atlantic exercise.

The carrier is the largest warship ever built for the Royal Navy.

All four drones reached their designated targets, according to BAE Systems.

Nyan is an uncrewed aircraft designed to make a precision strike, rather than return to its launch point.

The tests examined whether a strike drone can operate from a major carrier and fit into its complex flight operations.

The trials support Britain’s effort to develop a hybrid navy that can use uncrewed aircraft alongside crewed aircraft and other naval systems.

Their findings will inform the Royal Navy’s Maritime Aviation Transformation program, but no operational deployment has been announced.