Drone carrier. A drone carrier is a crewed or uncrewed ship equipped with a flight deck on which drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) can take off and land. This ship can be civilian or military. In addition to drone carriers for unmanned aerial Vehicles, there are also others for unmanned underwater vehicles and unmanned surface vehicles.

As a naval vessel, a drone carrier is capable of launching and picking up combat drones without the need for large and expensive aircraft carriers .

In March 2013, DARPA began efforts to develop a fleet of small naval vessels capable of launching and retrieving combat drones without the need for large and expensive aircraft carriers.

In November 2014, US DoD made an open request for ideas on how to build an airborne aircraft carrier that can launch and retrieve drones using existing military aircraft such as the B-1B, B-52 or C-130.

Developmental history

Turkey 

In February 2021, President of the Turkish Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) Ismail Demir made public a new type of UAV being developed by Baykar that is planned to be stationed on Turkey's first amphibious assault ship, TCG Anadolu. The new aircraft Baykar Bayraktar TB3 being developed is a naval version of the Bayraktar TB2 equipped with a local engine developed by TEI. According to the initial plans, the ship was expected to be equipped with F-35B fighter jets, but following the removal of Turkey from the procurement program, the vessel entered into a modification process to be able to accommodate UAVs. Mr. Demir stated that between 30 and 50 folding-winged Bayraktar TB3 UAVs will be able to land and take off using the deck of Anadolu.

On 19 November 2024, Baykar Bayraktar TB3 UAV successfully landed and took-off from TCG Anadolu. It was the first time a fixed-wing unmanned aircraft of this size and class had successfully landed on a short-runway landing helicopter dock.

China 

On May 18, 2022, the first Chinese unmanned drone carrier named Zhuhai Cloud ("Zhu Hai Yun") was launched in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province in China,  intended to advance marine research and economics. In May 2024, a possible drone carrier, with a catamaran layout and low flight deck, was spotted in the Jiangsu Dayang Marine Shipyards.

A Chinese Navy official, Chi, has announced that the recently launched Type 076-class Sichuan warship will serve as a UAV carrier.

Iran 

Iran also built a drone carrier (named Shahid Bagheri) with an estimated 160 to 180m long flight deck by converting a container ship. It is reported that several kinds of drones and helicopters can take off from and land on the said carrier. She also carry several anti-ship and anti-air missiles for protection and 30 Ashura-class missile speedboats with herself.

Portugal

Portuguese navy plans, for the second half of 2026, to deliver the NRP D. João II, a platform ship capable of operating aerial, surface and underwater drones, as well as medium (Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk) and heavy (EH101 Merlin) helicopters of the Portuguese air force.

South Korea 
On 12 November 2024, the South Korean Navy conducted a Gray Eagle STOL UAV take-off test aboard the amphibious assault ship ROKS Dokdo to test the ship's ability to carry fixed-wing UAVs. The Gray Eagle UAV took off from Dokdo, flew twice close to her port side to perform a "simulated landing procedure", but did not land on the ship. The Korean company Hanwha Ocean has presented several concepts for the production of UAV carrier or carriers of other unmanned vehicles in its proposed project called  Ghost Commander.

United Kingdom 

In 2000s, in the UK the UXV Combatant, which would have been a ship dedicated to UCAVs, was proposed for the Royal Navy.

The Royal Navy intends to operate fixed-wing drones from its two s to boost their combat mass. In trials, it successfully launched and recovered a Qinetiq Banshee Jet 80+, a W Autonomous Systems UAV and a General Atomics Mojave. Under Project Ark Royal, it is considering the installation of catapults and arrestor systems to launch and recover larger drones which are being procured under Project Vixen. Royal Navy briefings have used a carrier-based variant of the MQ-28 Ghost Bat as a representative of Vixen, and General Atomics has proposed its Gambit 5.

See also
 Airborne aircraft carrier
 Aircraft carrier
 Aviation-capable naval vessel
 Carrier-based aircraft
 Helicopter carrier
 Unmanned combat aerial vehicle

References

Drone carriers
Ship types
Uncrewed vehicles