The Malloy T-150 drone (made by British company Malloy Aeronautics), an eight-bladed system operated by a crew of two able to carry up to 68kg and fly up to 60mph, was launched as part of a trial by 700X Naval Air Squadron to see where drones can do the job of a helicopter and save on costs.
It flew autonomously for just over a mile and was eventually controlled by crews on Dauntless to guide it onto the ship’s flight deck, it was ‘carrying critical supplies, including spare and repair parts’.
the Royal Navy quoted Lieutenant Matt Parfitt, 700X Pioneer Flight Commander: “This is a key milestone for the trial, achieved by all the hard work that everyone has put in. I’m proud to have achieved this first for the Royal Navy and excited to progress further over the duration of the deployment.”
Captain Colin McGannity, Commander Air Group, UK Carrier Strike Group, said: “This milestone in the Malloy trials is a step toward the vision of a fully integrated hybrid carrier air wing. By taking some of the logistics burden, Malloy will allow our naval helicopters to concentrate on their core outputs, while delivering, rapid, more efficient resupply across the whole Strike Group. The really exciting bit is that we then plan to incorporate these lessons to be able to use UAVs for many other roles, including options for warfighting.”
Source Royal Navy
Image: UK MOD © Crown copyright 2025
