The Ministry of Defence is investigating a new rapid-launch drone system housed in a fleet of conventional vans.
According to the UK Defence Journal, the Government department is seeking industry input for the new weapons system under “Project Volley”, aiming to field multiple mobile launchers in vans capable of deploying five drones in under four minutes with each drone launched at one-minute intervals.
Described in a newly published Prior Information Notice, the MoD suggests the system should be suitable for deployment from vehicles such as a “large body (Mercedes-Benz) Sprinter” or a “regular (Ford) Transit van”
Last month, Ukraine military hid a swarm of drones inside what appered to be portable office units and took them within range of Russian airbases to attack and destroy over 40 aircraft, mostly long range bombers.
In the last few years, sophisticated drones carrying high explosives have successfully been guided to destroy military installations, vehicles and personnel in Ukraine and Russia at a fraction of the cost of using conventional aircraft and bombs.
