Drones, and their usage on destroyers and frigates

[DWReese]

I keep hearing about drones being flown from smaller ships, like destroyers and frigates. Obviously, these aren't Reaper-sized drones, so I figure that they are like 100-pound drones that are probably used for surveillance.

Are any of these included in any scenarios?

Do they just land on a helipad?

Do they need an actual hanger?

How many would a ship actually have on board?

How prevalent are these? There are lots or articles that talk about their existence, but most never say that they have been actively implemented as of yet?

Does anyone have any actual or CMO knowledge about how these are used, if at all?

Thanks in advance.

[mikerohan]

FireScout appears in several scenarios.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_ ... Fire_Scout

Granted it's not fixed wing, but it's a nice area surveillance gadget.

[Nikel]

AI was invoked again

Not only air drones, also surface and underwater.

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[HalfLifeExpert]

I think the FireScout unmanned scout helicopter has been in service for some time, hasn't it? It operates off the same facilities as ship-based helicopters.

As for other drones, many of them will be one-way loitering munitions, so they don't need facilities to return the ship.

As for ones that do need to return, some of them are based on the very successful quad-copter design, which don't need much to launch and land on, so the facilities to support one or two of them could fit in the same space size as, say, a CIWS mount or missile launcher.

[Nikel]

Operation Ardent Shield 2030, features UAVs and USVs from ships.

[SunlitZelkova]

I think the ScanEagle and other light fixed wing drones are recovered with a net mounted on the helipad.

[Blast33]

A while ago I read something about the V-Bat on Dutch naval ships.

They will perform surveillance tasks (10hrs max flighttime) and have three aircraft aboard with only acreww of two persons on board to operate the V-BAT. They onlyt have to attach the wings on the A/C and bring it from the hangar to the flightdeck, according to the article. One operator and one technician. Interestingly, the UAS will be operated by the 860th NH-90 helicopter squadron to keep air- and ship knowledge at its best.

The plan is they will only function for three years, because of the rapid tech developments in the UAS realm.

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[DWReese]

Thanks to everyone for the information.

I guess that the question that I was sort of asking is, do ALL ships now use these small V-Bat-type of systems? They seem to be real small, not expensive, and can operate right off of the fantail of a ship. The larger ones, which are similar to unmanned helicopters, obviously need to be housed, and launched and recovered. I just wonder how many of these smaller drones exist and in what numbers? Does every ship have one? Do just some ships have some? Have they been distributed widescale as of yet? From the scenarios that I have played using other drones, they are awesome surveillance platforms, and provide a super battlefield picture.

I had previously asked about satellite usage, but the use of drones also seems to be a very revealing asset.

I will check out the scenario that was mentioned. Thank you for that.

[BDukes]

Some require a catapult/launcher mount. If you add the UAV the application will add the mount. If not you can also add it from the air facilities window.

There are a couple that aren't able to be hosted by smaller ships due to a bug. V-Bat was one of them. They seemed to id the issue end expect it'll be fixed soon enough.

Real life:

They are ISR assets that are organized by class. Smaller types seemed to be used by ships often. Larger more sophisticated types require a particular set of skills....only certain ships can provide.

All UAV's are limited by communications. You need to be able to support a high rate of data. Early on user's were golden, now these signals are jammed or in the Ukraine ground troops have devices that can detect and display the video. SAT comm, jam resistance, and now AI has overcome but the tech will proceed.

Ship defenses are expensive now but not useless by any stretch. ECM gear good but enemy has a cheaper development and prod cycle. Seems like electrical engineering on both sides are in for career in changing and tuning. SAMs can do it but the cost trade-off is stupid in a lot of cases. They also must be configured to do it, I think the Dutch or Danes had a time against the Houthis. Big guns are ok but need fraggy ammo designed to spray metal, and smaller guns and CIWS need good sensors and direction to be effective. (Need things like new EO/IUR and separate Ku or Ka small radars. Lasers are ok but still developing powerful enough stuff with faster recharge rates. Counter drones (roadrunner and coyote) are being used now. Speed is the issue there as they need to catch faster drones (again munition development duels).

Mike

[DWReese]

Since many of these drones are small, and stored in trunks, and can be put together while on-board a ship, how many would a ship usually have (if any)?

Or, are drones something of a specialty item (like lasers) that are only issued to a handful of ships on a very limited basis?

It seems that, if nothing else, drones could be used to transport items from one ship to another without having to pull along side one another.

That said, I really like their ability to be used for surveillance. They are much smaller than a helo, yet can have the same radar capabilities.

Drones seem to be a great tool, if they ever get utilized on a regular basis.

[schweggy]

There are a number of "micro UAV's" in DB3K-513 that are apparently hand launched. They're about the size of a medium RC "toy" plane. I haven't tried to use any of them, but I seem to recall a user scenario in the Community Pack that had one of them, or something very similar, attached to a ground unit.

The range, and sensor suites on them are limited. But I would imagine a suitable micro UAV could be used on most any ship if it's hand launched and considered "disposable."