Defence, the Navy studies new drone carriers, the 'Shaman' project
The goal is to generate a real hub, a platform suitable for transporting different types of drones. In perspective, it is a matter of having a ship that can function as a hub, capable of distributing different capacities. All this not before 2040
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It is a very first taste of the 'Navy of the future'. The Navy has drawn up a preliminary study, called 'Sciamano Drone Carrier', to arrive at an understanding of the requirements, in terms of essential components and enabling technologies, that could lead, no earlier than 2040, to the development of a system that would be a true hub, a platform suitable for transporting different types of drones. This whole process could lead to the creation of 'a network of networks' that will enable the launch and recovery of fixed- and rotary-wing unmanned drones for intelligence and surveillance activities.
The progress of this project will be reviewed at the 'Sea Drone Tech Summit 2024', the fourth edition of the national conference on marine robotics to be held on 29 and 30 October at the Polo Acquatico of the Italian Swimming Federation in Ostia (Rome).
The mandate to Fincantieri
.The 'Sciamano Drone Carrier' project, financed by the National Military Research Plan, was entrusted to Fincantieri in order to define the 'concept design' of this new drone carrier, which will also include an advanced command, control and communication system for the operational management of swarms of unmanned vehicles with their launch and recovery systems.
Drone deployment on Navy ships
.The Navy has been deploying drones on its ships for some time now. In June 2023, in fact, on the deep-sea patrol vessel 'Paolo Thaon di Revel', the armed force presented the new version of the 'AWHero', a remote-controlled mini-helicopter of the 200-kilogram class produced by Leonardo. Furthermore, in November last year, on board the frigate 'Carlo Bergamini', the Navy's first Remotely Piloted Aircraft section carried out two launches and as many recoveries of the 'ScanEagle' fixed-wing drone produced by the American company Boeing.
Up to 14 fixed- and rotary-wing drones will be available
.And just last March, the House Defence Committee approved a programme that will allow the Navy to acquire up to 14 fixed- and rotary-wing drones. The armed force also employsunderwater robots, including the 'Hugin 1000' from Norway's Kongsberg Maritime and the 'Pluto Gigas' and 'Multipluto' from Italy's Gaymarine.
