The US Navy has operated unmanned aircraft from warships since Gyrodyne QH-50 drones carried anti-submarine torpedoes off the flightdecks of destroyers in the 1960s. But they have either been big ships (Pioneers on battleships) or small UAVs (ScanEagles on destroyers). No-one wants to recover a 55ft-wingspan MQ-1 Predator by flying it at a net or catching it on a rope.
Now DARPA wants to enable small ships such as the 2,800-ton Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship to launch and recover Predator-class medium-altitude, long-endurance UAVs. The Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node (TERN) program seeks to demonstrate a MALE UAV, and associated automated launch and recovery system, that can carry a 600lb payload 600-900nm from its host vessel.
Graham Warwick-aviationweek
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