UAV and UCAV carrier designs

that_person said:
Strongly disagree, but I’ll bite. How are they reinventing helicopter carriers?
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Well because they won’t be carrying what one might think of as a traditional helicopters probably.

I forgot what the video title was, but there’s a drone helo carrier type ship it will carry a manned helo or two, one or two fire scout type drones, a bunch of smaller quadcopter drones, and then in the superstructure is like 50+ loitering munitions launchers on each side.
 
Its interesting to consider the possibilities of a [manned] naval jet vtol/vstol renaissance if you have enough drone carriers in service with enough of the worlds navies.
 
johnpjones1775 said:
Well because they won’t be carrying what one might think of as a traditional helicopters probably.

I forgot what the video title was, but there’s a drone helo carrier type ship it will carry a manned helo or two, one or two fire scout type drones, a bunch of smaller quadcopter drones, and then in the superstructure is like 50+ loitering munitions launchers on each side.
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More or less what I tried to say. What is missing is a broad term for "a ship that carries flying machines" - helicopters, VSTOL, naval planes... and now: drones.
Put otherwise: drones unique capabilities may result in whole new breeds of ships to launch them. Not helocarriers nor VSTOL SCS nor big amphibs nor "classic" aircraft carriers. But something new and different, entirely. Thinking about it further: the iranian ships.
 
Archibald said:
More or less what I tried to say. What is missing is a broad term for "a ship that carries flying machines" - helicopters, VSTOL, naval planes... and now: drones.
Put otherwise: drones unique capabilities may result in whole new breeds of ships to launch them. Not helocarriers nor VSTOL SCS nor big amphibs nor "classic" aircraft carriers. But something new and different, entirely. Thinking about it further: the iranian ships.
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I don’t really think it will be different entirely.

Those Iranian ships aren’t different because they’re optimized for drone warfare, they’re different because they can’t currently build a true CV or LH/LP type of ship.

Ships built by actual naval powers for drone warfare will most likely more or less be just an amphib or jeep carrier, or the old helo cruiser. The biggest difference is likely just going to be that they may be slightly smaller or carry a slightly larger airwing than their manned counterparts.

Edit
ESBs are already being built up as the first true drone tender style ships for the USN.
Once they’ve worked out some SOPs for drones I don’t doubt for a second that we’ll see something between the San Antonio class and a burke in size as a dedicated drone tender, and some where between the San Antonio class and the independence class in terms of design/hull form.
 
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Search "Turkish aircraft carrier" Apparently Turkiye is deep in the design stage for an indigenous aircraft carrier that will carry a mix of manned and unmanned aircraft, also all indigenous.
 
Archibald said:
More or less what I tried to say. What is missing is a broad term for "a ship that carries flying machines" - helicopters, VSTOL, naval planes... and now: drones.
Put otherwise: drones unique capabilities may result in whole new breeds of ships to launch them. Not helocarriers nor VSTOL SCS nor big amphibs nor "classic" aircraft carriers. But something new and different, entirely. Thinking about it further: the iranian ships.
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johnpjones1775 said:
Those Iranian ships aren’t different because they’re optimized for drone warfare, they’re different because they can’t currently build a true CV or LH/LP type of ship.

Ships built by actual naval powers for drone warfare will most likely more or less be just an amphib or jeep carrier, or the old helo cruiser. The biggest difference is likely just going to be that they may be slightly smaller or carry a slightly larger airwing than their manned counterparts.
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Aircraft is aircraft, and removing the pilot doesn't change things too much except reducing minimum size and things like endurance constraints, and maybe changes to the safety/reuse requirements.

Well, minimum size means this:
Ukraine-Navy-USV-Maritime-Drone-with-FPVs-1024x574.jpg
 
But potentially you have a USV carrier as well, which may or may not be a different ship. Chances are a UAV carrier would at have a stern ramp for at least a couple of USVs, but this concept is probably going to be used as a multipurpose component of a taskforce detached from any main battlegroup. Smaller & stealthier than a conventional aviation carrier, intended for duties you don't want to tie up the rest of the fleet.

Roles depend on what UUV/USV mix you deploy with it, so it might not have a permanent air wing and could even be loaded up to support an ASW group. Will probably always have some long range recon & surveillance UAVs as a core role, maybe a tanker. Definitely needs self defence though.
 
DJB said:
But potentially you have a USV carrier as well, which may or may not be a different ship. Chances are a UAV carrier would at have a stern ramp for at least a couple of USVs, but this concept is probably going to be used as a multipurpose component of a taskforce detached from any main battlegroup. Smaller & stealthier than a conventional aviation carrier, intended for duties you don't want to tie up the rest of the fleet.

Roles depend on what UUV/USV mix you deploy with it, so it might not have a permanent air wing and could even be loaded up to support an ASW group. Will probably always have some long range recon & surveillance UAVs as a core role, maybe a tanker. Definitely needs self defence though.
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USN ESBs already have USV and UUV capabilities without a stern ramp.

Technically any ship with a boat deck has US AND UUV capabilities.

There’s nothing new massive or major about any of this. A USV is just a boat, ships have been carrying and lowering smaller boats into the water for literally hundreds of years.
 
On the other hand, the provision of maintenence facilities as well as C4I systems necessary for effectively deploying the more sophisticated drones might be issues for vessels that are not dedicated drone motherships or otherwise designed with extensive drone use in mind.
 
Long story short the first ship class designed as a drone mother ship has already been in service for a while. The LCSes aren’t anything revolutionary in ship design.
The ESBs as I mentioned earlier are being used for the purpose as well, and Turkey has already repurposed their LHD as a drone carrier.

We generally have a good idea of what drone based ships will look like because they’re already in existence and use. We will just see refinements for the first generation of purpose built large drone motherships.
 
These all stick out like a sore thumb...maybe modify container ships where several rows of the tail sections of containers drop down to reveal a flight deck?
 
publiusr said:
These all stick out like a sore thumb...maybe modify container ships where several rows of the tail sections of containers drop down to reveal a flight deck?
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Tbh a few days before operation spiderweb I posited to my fiancé I could see Ukraine launching a strike on Russia’s east coast with either a fishing vessel or a small cargo vessel.

My thoughts were drop a few of the quadcopter carrying sea babies 50 miles away from a Russian base, and then send the sea babies into the naval base.

Only hang up I had with that was if Ukraine would be ok essentially sacrificing their people if they were to get identified before they could into allied waters.
 

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Those Ukrainian USVs have a 500km range, not sure what the new UUV can do but you would probably preposition those for an ambush or use against a bridge (again). But I suspect longer range aerial drones could launch off a small carrier with other UAVs protecting the USV mothership. Maybe a UAV carrier could look something like HTMS Chakri Naruebet, with added drone command centre.
 

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