Naval Unmanned Aerial Systems: High-End Systems Join NATO Nations' Fleets

摘要

Increasingly sophisticated unmanned I systems are entering service - or will soon enter service - across the fleet structure, deploying on ships and supporting naval operations from land. This trend includes large, high endurance aircraft, which are the focus of this article. While large surface combatants tend to deploy with two manned multi-mission aircraft, small surface combatants or SSCs (corvettes, frigates, Littoral Combat Ship) benefit from sailing with a mix of one manned and (depending on size) one to three unmanned helicopters. The UAS deployed on surface combatants act as force multipliers and augment the manned aircraft. Utilising radar and Electro-Optical/lnfrared (EO/IR) cameras, they can significantly enhance the ship's situational awareness by flying well beyond the detection range of the ship's own sensors. Their primary contribution lies with Intelligence, Surveillance, Targeting and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) missions over sea and land. This includes such functions as Search and Rescue (SR), targeting support for over-the-horizon shipboard weapons, and battle damage assessment. While the manned helicopter can perform all of these tasks, the unmanned systems tend to have significantly better mission endurance. Especially when multiple UAS are carried, this translates to a more consistent forward presence beyond the ship sensor's line of sight.