FlightGlobal
• Craig Hoyle
The Royal Navy has launched strike drones from HMS Queen Elizabeth for the first time, including BAE Systems’ Nyan one-way effector. A separate demonstration saw TEKEVER’s AR5 complete its first carrier take-off and landing, testing how uncrewed aircraft could expand shipborne missions and maritime reach.
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The Royal Navy has launched strike drones from HMS Queen Elizabeth for the first time, including BAE Systems’ Nyan one-way effector. A separate demonstration saw TEKEVER’s AR5 complete its first carrier take-off and landing, testing how uncrewed aircraft could expand shipborne missions and maritime reach.
Indonesia’s navy has begun helicopter flights to and from the KRI Sriwijaya-100, the 1980s-era carrier recently transferred from Italy. The initial activity involved five Airbus Helicopters AS565 Panthers and two Bell 412s, while the ship’s broader military role remains unclear.
A Dassault Aviation Rafale M has successfully landed and taken off from an Indian aircraft carrier, marking a flight-test milestone for the French naval fighter in India. The country operates two carriers and has ambitions to add a third, giving the tests relevance to its future carrier-air-wing planning.
China claims its Hongdu GJ-11 unmanned combat air vehicle has taken off and landed aboard a new amphibious assault ship, demonstrating a shipborne operating capability. The report offers no further details on the test, including when it occurred or the aircraft’s operational status.
The US Air Force has tested new autonomous mission systems on its XQ-67A demonstrator, while China says its GJ-21 unmanned combat aircraft completed takeoff and landing tests aboard the Type 076 amphibious assault ship Sichuan. Separately, TEKEVER won a USSOCOM order for AI-enabled ISR drones, and Saab and GA-ASI tested an unmanned airborne early warning capability on the MQ-9B.
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Chinese state media says the GJ-21 stealth attack drone has completed its first takeoff and landing aboard the amphibious assault ship Sichuan, calling it a breakthrough in the ship program. The reported milestone follows more than a year of signs that China was preparing to demonstrate ship-based operations for the aircraft.
The Makin Island amphibious ready group arrived in Yokosuka about a week after the Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group. As the two groups operate in the region, Roosevelt’s aircraft are conducting a simulated strike during the Keen Sword 27 exercise.
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