Tempest414 wrote:Hero is 3.5 meters by 1 meter when folded so you could get 5 in a 20 ft container however I feel most ships would carry 2 or 3 at a time.
The safest thing for new platforms would be to leave ample amounts of extra space to allow future growth but current planning actually appears to going backwards in this regard.
The infamous Black Swan concept provided lots of space for both a helicopter and multiple UAV's.
image.jpg
The Type 26 back in 2012 had lots of space designated for UAV's as well as the embarked helicopter. This was in effect a double hanger design at this stage.
The stern mission area would have been a great space but I think mainly due to issues with the towed array the stern ramp capability was dropped. Pity.
image.jpg
In addition to the stern mission area and double hanger the 2012 Type 26 concept had a useful mission space forward of the hanger.
image.jpg
Although the overall styling is a bit suspect and the design was still maturing, in many ways the mission spaces and hanger layout was vastly superior than the in build Type 26 design today.
image.jpg
The current Type 26 design has a much more limited helicopter and UAV capability which is clearly shown in the detailed hanger plan in this document.
https://my.nps.edu/documents/105575500/ ... 5190bcf6fe
This reduction in allocated space for UAV's seems odd for vessels expected to be in service until the 2040's at least. Lots could change between now and then.
The T31 designs also seem to lack much in the way of designated UAV space again showing the important attached to this capability 5 or 6 years ago now appears diminished in current planning.
The Leander design has some space built in for UAV operation but could this be removed if the hanger is redesigned to make it Merlin capable?
image.jpg
The A140 has a hanger capable of housing a Merlin but not a lot more.
image.jpg
Could this be another reason why the double Absalon type hanger would be a useful addition on the A140?
image.jpg
The one T31 contender that did attach a lot of importance to the UAV capability was the Spartan concept.
image.jpg
I think this concept had the best hanger layout of all the submitted designs.
image.jpg
The similarities between the Stellar Systems Spartan and the 2012 Type 26 concept are obvious.
image.jpg
It is very fashionable to talk about building in room for future growth but as far as UAV's are concerned, current planning appears to be building in a lot less room for future growth as was envisaged only 5 or 6 years ago.
This UAV technology is an emerging capability and the designs will continue to evolve but it must be at least plausible that the UAV platforms are going to increase in size and weight before getting smaller. It would therefore seem sensible to increase the space allocated to UAV operations to truly allow for future growth in all future RN vessels.