The British Armed Forces are currently testing the Stalker VXE30 mini drone, a new addition to their small Uncrewed Air Systems (sUAS) arsenal, as part of Project TIQUILA.
According to a press release from Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), this drone, developed by Lockheed Martin, has undergone nearly 20 hours of trials at RNAS Predannack in Cornwall, withstanding challenging weather conditions to assess its operational capabilities.
The Stalker VXE30 is part of a broader initiative aimed at quickly delivering advanced sUAS technology to the military while allowing for continuous updates over the next decade.
DE&S describes the project as a “step change” in equipment procurement, with the goal of keeping pace with technological and battlefield advances. The trials are crucial for determining whether the drone meets the standards required by the Armed Forces, both in terms of performance and cost-effectiveness.
The trials were conducted by a team that included the Joint UAS Test and Evaluation Flight (JUAS TEF) from 744 Naval Air Squadron, the Air & Space Warfare Centre, and DE&S’s TIQUILA Delivery Team. These tests are part of the initial phase of capability acceptance, designed to provide evidence that the equipment can deliver the promised capabilities and value for money.
Hannah Haggett from DE&S highlighted the importance of these tests, stating, “It is crucial we provide the military with cutting-edge capabilities now but also equipment that can be continually upgraded to keep pace with emerging threats.” However, this assertion remains dependent on the successful completion of the trials and the subsequent integration of the drones into active service.
The Stalker VXE30, weighing just over 20 kilograms with a wingspan of 4.88 metres, is described by DE&S as an operationally proven, vertical-launched drone. It reportedly offers up to eight hours of imaging capability and can operate up to 60 kilometres from its launch point.
Additionally, the project is assessing the Indago 4, a smaller quadcopter that can be deployed within three minutes and has a range of approximately 12 kilometres. Both drones are equipped with high-resolution cameras for day and night operations, providing Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities.
The broader Project TIQUILA initiative includes a £129 million contract with Lockheed Martin UK, announced in December 2022, to supply over 250 mini drones to the UK Armed Forces. The project is also expected to support jobs in Havant, Gloucester, and across the wider UK supply chain.
While the claims about the capabilities of the Stalker VXE30 and Indago 4 are promising, their real-world effectiveness will ultimately be judged based on their performance in ongoing and future trials.
DE&S expects both systems to be operational on the front line by the end of 2024, but this timeline will depend on the continued success of these trials and the ability to integrate these systems into the Armed Forces’ existing frameworks.
Every “little” helps.😉
The drone has suddenly become the offensive and defensive weapon of choice across the World. Like ‘AI’ there will be endless benefits but also a marked tightening of our liberties and freedoms, in the wrong hands. Even when used for good intent these systems in combination with other surveillance tools will make social misdemeans and crimes in general, more difficult to remain undetected. This will include any motoring errors and we have all done those, putting out waste bins too early, unwittingly dropping litter, trespassing whilst walking the dog and so on. This will lead to an increase in court… Read more »
1984.
159 Indago 4 and 106 Stalker are being procured, assume to replace Puma in service with 32 RA, the British Army TUAS regiment.
Ideally just supplement and keep Puma too?
Let’s be a world leader in drones, we say. We give Prime on TIQUILA to Lockheed Martin and say source us some drones. We end up with US designed and made Lockheed Martin drones.
I’m amazed. Who could have predicted that?
Are they designed and made in the US rather than produced by LM UK then?
That’s so frustrating, hate being subject to ITAR when we could be leading the way forward and coming up with solutions that others will pay good money for…
Who knows, we may get to assemble them.
Stalker is designed and built by Edge Autonomy of California, Indago 4 by Procerus Technologies of Utah, a Lockheed subsidiary.
I’m not sure about the relationship between Edge and Lockheed, but the drone was first sold through the Lockheed Skunk Works back in 2006, branded as the Lockheed Stalker. The latest version from Edge is called Havoc with a claimed doubled range and payload, but I’ve no idea if that’s what the Army have been testing. Given the timing, probably not.
Seems like a massive missed opportunity to me, given the way we’re heading up the drone initiative with Lithuania to deliver to Ukraine.
We could easily be spending a significant amount of our and others’ money in developing these and other types in the UK.
Just a small point, there is no such base as RNAS Predannack. It is Predannack airfield, on the Lizard peninsula, which is a satellite airfield to nearby RNAS Culdrose.
Yep. Heli training, small UAV flying an a load of wrecks from the Culdrose fire fighting department.
Even many of those have been moved as people keep trespassing.
Guilty as charged !
😆
Bit of an interesting approach to VTOL on this one.
Essentially superimposes a typical quadcopter UAV onto a miniature Baykratr fixed-wing type.
I wonder how much it could be scaled up, perhaps using a hybrid arrangement with the horizontal motor acting as a generator.
“Project TIQUILA”? Are we supposed to take a shot every time it or Stalker is mentioned?
Came from the merger of two projects, Stratcom’s TINEMAN and the Army’s AQUILA. (The Air Force and the Navy’s hypothetical projects, SALT and LIME, are still awaiting integration.)
😂😂😂 I wonder just how many will see what you did there ?
Predannack is a strange place though, set in a stunning location, the approach road had more pot holes than craters on the Moon and it was almost at the point of being reclaimed my MN herself. Pretty handy place to have though given the sheer number of airfields that have been lost over the years.I’ll not try picking Blackberries there next time I head south though for fear of being shot !!!🍇👮🔫 (bloody american emojis)
We’ve loads of Bramble Bushes in our garden mate, you could have some of my wife’s Blackberry Jam if you were closer to me.
I don’t think you’ve any worries about being shot at Pred, mate…hardly the most secure of sites! Now if you went a a few miles north east on to the downs there is a far more interesting place.