UAV and UCAV carrier designs

[Bgray]

Here's a question-- right now, UAVs are becoming far more important, to where it's looking like more and more ships will have an organic capability. But to date, that generaly means A. putting a UAV on an aviation ship (carrier) or B. using a helicopter deck.

Have there been many studies at what designs would look like as a more dedicated drone support platform? I'm not just looking at "pure UCAV carriers" but the changes needed to support a more extensive drone presence for a warship that also has a function as a conventional surface combatant.

 

[TomS]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/UXV_Combatant

 

[Bgray]

I'd seen that one, but it seems to be one of hte only ones. It's a bit odd, given how much drones are proliferationg that we're not seeing more work on drone specific ships/handling systems. (Could it be becuase drone designs are still so much in flux?)

 

[JAZZ]

UCAV concepts

 

[JAZZ]

UCAV carriers

 

[JAZZ]

Another Cross Bow

 

[JAZZ]

Some more

 

[pedrospe]

Nice concepts,thanks.

best regards

pedro

 

[RP1]

Artists impression of strike carrier for small CATOVL UCAVs. Also preliminary CAD model screenshot, principal particulars and UCAV types for the monohull strike carrier and TriSWACH persistence CTOL carrier.

From:

Pawling, R & Andrews, DJ, “The Ship Design Challenge of Naval Unmanned Aerial Vehicles”, International Conference Warship 2009: Air Power at Sea, RINA, London, June 2009.

 

[Grey Havoc]

On a bit of a tangent:

How U.S. Navy Aircraft Carriers Are Going All in on Drones

The Navy is building a special new command and control mini "drone-headquarters" space on its aircraft carriers to operate deck-launched drones as part of a strategy aimed at massively increasing the scope of carrier-launched drone missions in coming years.

news.yahoo.com

 

[Bgray]

Pawling, R & Andrews, DJ, “The Ship Design Challenge of Naval Unmanned Aerial Vehicles”, International Conference Warship 2009: Air Power at Sea, RINA, London, June 2009.

So, does anyone know if it ws only released at the conference, or was it published elsewhere, because I'd really like to look at that.

 

[Grey Havoc]

UXV thread

 

[covert_shores]

Only ever a thought exercise, but low-profile UCAV carrier http://www.hisutton.com/Low-Profile_UCAV_Aircraft_Carrier.html

 

[collins355]

I like this one...

 

[Foo Fighter]

Only ever a thought exercise, but low-profile UCAV carrier http://www.hisutton.com/Low-Profile_UCAV_Aircraft_Carrier.html

That seems to be a fair weather boat. Not much good for anything of a sea state. A bit of a modern 'monitor' if you will.

 

[covert_shores]

Variable ballast, could increase free board if necessary.

Re Chinese Type-076, my own graphic and analysis is here https://www.forbes.com/sites/hisutt...vs-could-arm-chinas-type-076-assault-carrier/ (sorry, I am not supposed to repost the images until a certain time after publish date otherwise would attach)

 

[jsport]

Only ever a thought exercise, but low-profile UCAV carrier http://www.hisutton.com/Low-Profile_UCAV_Aircraft_Carrier.html

That seems to be a fair weather boat. Not much good for anything of a sea state. A bit of a modern 'monitor' if you will.

Who would be taking off in sea state 3 or 4 anyway. Need ucav carriers which can hug a shore line and not be seen easily. Mini carriers can support high turn around/soties the closer they are to their IADs tgts. Persistent search by being close to shore w high sortie rate rather than by forcing the craft to be high endurance.

 

[Foo Fighter]

Thanks folk, much appreciated.

 

[Ron5]

Pawling, R & Andrews, DJ, “The Ship Design Challenge of Naval Unmanned Aerial Vehicles”, International Conference Warship 2009: Air Power at Sea, RINA, London, June 2009.

So, does anyone know if it ws only released at the conference, or was it published elsewhere, because I'd really like to look at that.

Was anyone able to help you?

 

[Grey Havoc]

Op-Ed: Is it Time for the U.S. Navy to Build the Drone Carrier Warship? - Naval News

As the Pentagon and Congress grapple on determining what to build to meet the “500-ship U.S. Navy goal,” a couple of years-old ideas and artist renderings may lead to a more flexible future for the U.S. Navy’s global operations. BAE Systems' UXV and Naval Group’s “Ocean Avenger” are Potential...

www.navalnews.com

Mentions both the UXV as well as Naval Group's Ocean Avenger concept that was revealed last year.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Planned for the Turkish Navy, and seemingly a cornerstone of the 'Herd USV' program currently under development:

UCAV Carrier

 

[jsport]

Congress should accelerate the Navy’s unmanned revolution

The U.S. Navy’s welcome surge in experimentation during the past year is at risk of running aground due to a lack of focus and equipment.

www.defensenews.com

 

[shin_getter]

China Built A Mothership For Training Its Forces To Defend Against Drone Swarms

The vessel and its drones underscore China's focus on swarm capabilities and its appreciation for the risks they pose to its own navy.

www.thedrive.com

So they actually built the thing~

 

[shin_getter]

Iran Unveils Ominous New Naval 'Drone-Carrier Division'

The unit, supported by drone-laden ships and submarines, is another sign of the asymmetric capabilities unmanned aerial vehicles provide.

www.thedrive.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

https://www.reddit.com/r/WarshipPorn/comments/xdzed8

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/WarshipPorn/comments/xdzed8/chinese_navy_has_placed_an_order_for_a_15000_tons/

 

[raptor82]

Hanwha UAV carrier design @MADEX 2023:

 

[H_K]

Wow… that design violates several fundamental precepts of carrier aviation. No deck park, no way to recover aircraft in quick succession… better not be aiming for high sortie generation!

 

[raptor82]

LOTS of pics here：

무인기 지휘통제함 최초 공개

6천톤급의 무인전력 지휘통제함이 최초 공개 되었습니다. [디펜스투데이]

www.defensetoday.kr

 

[johnpjones1775]

Honestly I think ‘cruiser sized’ ships will be used as drone carriers and wouldn’t be surprised if there was a potential revitalization of the aviation cruiser concept with drones.
We already saw that idea floating around with the dreadnought 2050 concept ship.

However a dedicated drone carrier has no reason to look different from a regular carrier.
You can likely get the same number of airframes on a smaller ship, or a larger number of airframes on ships the size of modern current carriers.

 

[raptor82]

HHI’s design HCX-23:

View: https://youtu.be/ZbDFoNy0jCs

 

[Kat Tsun]

Wow… that design violates several fundamental precepts of carrier aviation. No deck park, no way to recover aircraft in quick succession… better not be aiming for high sortie generation!

At the stage where a navy can replicate the strike capacities of a legacy carrier air wing's aircraft of EW and strike capabilities in a single flight, or a single aircraft with something like UCLASS, you really don't need sortie generation much anymore.

Honestly I think ‘cruiser sized’ ships will be used as drone carriers and wouldn’t be surprised if there was a potential revitalization of the aviation cruiser concept with drones.
We already saw that idea floating around with the dreadnought 2050 concept ship.

However a dedicated drone carrier has no reason to look different from a regular carrier.
You can likely get the same number of airframes on a smaller ship, or a larger number of airframes on ships the size of modern current carriers.

Making an angled flight deck on a 10-20,000 ton hull with Aegis, without stacking multi-level recovery/launch lanes, would be hard. In fact it might be impossible on a monohull, as I suspect the multi-hull design is simply to facilitate a lighter tonnage much like the LCS ships.

So it looks funny because it's small I guess.