There are now at least three navies that have acquired or are developing ‘flat-top’ carriers designed specifically to carry uncrewed air systems. Here we look at some of these projects and the implications of this trend.
Navies, such as the RN that already possess aircraft carriers are also planning to add UAS capabilities to their ships but this is not the main focus of this article. While ownership of carriers for fixed-wing crewed aircraft is beyond the reach of many nations, drone/UAS carriers offer a cheaper low-risk pathway to achieving a measure of naval air power. They also have attractions for established carrier navies as a platform for technology experimentation, a way to add greater mass to existing air wings and as vessels that could be risked in places that multi-$billion conventional carriers would avoid.
The UXV Combatant was a multi-role drone mothership, the design envisioned a sleek, low-observable vessel capable of launching and recovering a wide array of UAVs, USVs, and UUVs while maintaining traditional naval combat capabilities.
The design proposed twin angled flight decks in a V-shape that emerged on either side of the superstructure. This arrangement would have been extremely awkward from an aviation perspective but allowed an array of weapons to be mounted forward, blending the drone carrier with a more conventional warship. This was really just a conversation-starter and well ahead of its time but foreshadowed trends that are gaining traction now.
China
In November 2024 a large vessel put to sea from the shipyard at Guangzhou in China, estimated to be about 200m long and with a beam of 40 metres. This ship is not operated by the navy (PLAN) but carries the markings of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC). This vessel has been constructed quickly, probably to civilian standards and without any attempt to reduce the radar cross-section. It does, however appear to be fitted with naval radars and other sensors.
The forward island contains the bridge, a second island amidships has the flying control position and a small funnel astern gives it a unique ‘3-island profile’. What is believed to be the ship’s name ‘Zhong Chuan Zi Hao’ is painted in large letters on the side and the flight deck has markings for VTOL UAS operations. There are multiple drone launch and recovery stations and hangar bays integrated into the superstructure.
The authoritarian Chinese government has the advantage of being able to initiate large naval projects in great secrecy without any accountability to its public so the exact purpose of the ship is unclear for now. Whether the Zhong Chuan Zi Hao is intended for frontline deployment or as a technology demonstrator and trials ship, the level of investment suggests this is part of a longer-term project.
Given Chinese production capacity, this may be a prototype for many more similar vessels. If fully integrated into the PLAN, drone carriers would provide another persistent platform for ISR and strike operations, especially in contested areas of the South China Sea or Taiwan Strait.
Iran
In contrast to China’s high-end approach, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) has embraced a low-cost, high-volume drone strategy. In July 2022, Iran revealed it was developing a ‘drone carrier division’ consisting of retrofitted merchant vessels and corvettes equipped with long-range UASs.
The first new drone carrier, the IRIS Shahid Bahman Bagheri commissioned in February 2024, a container ship originally built in South Korea but converted in Iran. The 160-metre flight deck is partially cantilevered over its port side so the superstructure did not have to be re-sited. This will make for awkward landing approaches and unfavourable turbulence that may restrict the UAS operating envelope.
The Bagheri reportedly carries both fixed-wing and rotary-wing UAS, including variants of the Mohajer, Shahed, and Ababil families. The quality and capabilities of these drones may be variable but they pose a challenge that high-end navies are struggling to meet cost-effectively. Iran portrays the drone ships as extending its ISR and strike capabilities across the Gulf and potentially into the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. The Bagheri has a considerable 22,000 nm range and can operate for a year without refuelling. With a spacious interior, it has a hospital and even a large sports hall with an astroturf pitch for crew recreation.
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Unveiled to the media with a mix of helicopters and drones on deck. UAS and supplies can be loaded into the hangar through the large door in the starboard side. Additional weapons can be carried on the aft deck behind the superstructure.
Given Iran’s focus on asymmetric warfare, these carriers are likely not intended for conventional peer combat, at least initially. Instead, they extend Tehran’s capacity for maritime presence, psychological operations, and proxy support in contested littorals. The drone carrier is a political symbol as much as a military tool, although the threat they pose may change as UAS improve and they build more of these type of vessels.
The Bagheri is something of a compromise but this rough and ready approach has allowed Iran to get the capability to sea quickly and cheaply. While the RN and other ’tier one’ navies have some great PowerPoints and drone carrier aspirations there has been a failure to move at pace, still bound by self-imposed bureaucracy, a risk-averse culture and glacial procurement processes.
Turkey
The Türk Donanması is repurposing a previously planned fixed-wing carrier project into a drone-focused concept. The TCG Anadolu is an LHD, based on the Spanish Juan Carlos design but built in Turkey. The ship was originally intended to operate up to 10 F-35B jets but Turkey was expelled from the F-35 programme in 2019 after purchasing Russian S-400 air defence systems. The Anadolu has subsequently been adapted to operate UAS instead.
The key platform in this revised concept is the Bayraktar TB3 — a navalised version of the successful TB2 Medium Altitude, Long Endurance (MALE) UAS. The TB3 features folding wings, strengthened landing gear and a short take-off and landing capability compatible with the Anadolu’s flight deck. In November 2024, a TB3 successfully conducted its first take-off and landing from the Anadolu. This marked the first time a fixed-wing unmanned aircraft of this class had operated from an LHD without the aid of arresting gear.
Bayraktar is also developing a jet-powered UAV, the Kızılelma, which may one day be launched from the Anadolu. The project demonstrates the maturity of Turkey’s defence industry and its ability to pivot quickly from traditional acquisition paths toward domestic innovation. Turkey is also planning to adapt the Angelou to carry a large air group of UAVS and in the longer term, aims to build its first indigenously designed carrier – the Milli Uçak Gemisi ( MUGEM) capable of hosting a mix of up to 50 crewed and uncrewed aircraft.
Portugal
Following a programme launched in 2022, the Marinha Portuguesa has signed a contract with Damen in the Netherlands for the delivery of a Multifunctional Naval Platform to be named NRP D. João II. Based on the 7,000-tonne Damen MSS concept, the focus of this ship is not primarily naval combat and the uncrewed systems are will be deployed on ISR, humanitarian aid/disaster relief, oceanographic and environmental monitoring missions.
The D. João Il will have a 94-metre flight deck with a UAS hangar in the forward part of the ship. The after section comprises a multi-mission hangar capable of embarking containers, vehicles, boats or USVs that can be launched and recovered from a stern ramp. There is also a small side hangar for ROV and UUVs. In parallel the ship will support modest crewed rotary wing operations with a hangar for a single medium helicopter. There is also a role 3 hospital facility and emergency accommodation for up to 200 people.
As a regional navy that has never operated an aircraft carrier or amphibious vessel, this marks a big step for Portugal in acquiring greater naval aviation capability than can be delivered by its three frigates. This unusual vessel promises to be a very flexible asset and its capabilities can be enhanced as uncrewed technologies advance.
Brazil
Demonstrating the versatility of an LHD and ships with large decks, the Brazilian Navy will conduct trials of the Albatroz UAS on the helicopter carrier NAM Atlântico (ex HMS Ocean) later this year. The Brazilian Navy has already operated the Insitu ScanEagle RQ-1 system launched from a portable catapult from the deck of the Atlântico. In July 2024, the UAS was deployed from the ship to survey the Rio Grande do Sul region following serious flooding. Although rather unwieldily, the ScanEagle was one the first operational UAS to be used by navies and was trialled by the RN between 2013-15.
Doctrinal dilemmas
Despite the advancing technology, effectively integrating uncrewed aircraft onto naval platforms is not straightforward. Launch and recovery at sea remain non-trivial tasks, particularly in heavy seas or high winds. Command and control of multiple uncrewed systems is complex and reliant on secure data links that can be subject to jamming or disruption. Doctrine is still being developed for how drone carriers may function, potentially as independent surveillance nodes, hunter-killers, or extensions of larger battle groups.
The divergent paths of different nations reflect differing strategic outlooks and resources but all point to a future in which drone carriers, in some form, become fixtures of naval fleets. The concept of a carrier has always been defined by its aircraft. With the emergence of increasingly capable and AI-enabled UAS, that definition is being rewritten. No longer the exclusive domain of great powers, sea-based air power is now within reach of regional and even minor navies.
For established carrier navies, the challenge is integrating UAS into their existing platforms without hampering the operation of expensive, crewed aircraft which will remain largely superior and the primary effector in most roles, for the next decade at least. There may also be a strong case for following the Chinese example and building separate low-cost dedicated vessels rather than attempting to reconfigure conventional carriers for hybrid operation.
The rise of drone carriers reflects not just the increasing influence of uncrewed systems on warfare but a strategic shift toward more distributed, survivable, and flexible forms of maritime power projection. For now, drone carriers are mostly modest in size and ambition but in time, they may prove transformational. While armchair experts continually prophesy “the end of the aircraft carrier”, the opposite may be true with UAS enabling a new generation of carriers that may become more numerous and dominant in naval warfare than ever.
